Puppets
by The Brothers of SilverCross51
Summary: A life is a life no matter who it belongs to. That’s what makes saving them so hard. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Robin has to decide whose life comes first when Slade puts the pressure on…
1. Chapter 1

Hurt to Save

Victor Van Heiring (co-written by, Alexnandru Van Gordon)

Victor: YAY! I'm actually writing a story!

Alex: Don't get too excited.

Victor: Why not?

Alex: No one might read it.

Victor: I never pictured you as mean before…Anyhow, hello everybody. If you somehow stumbled across this story than you have the choice to either read and review, just read, or pretend I don't exist.

Alex: _(rubs temples)_ Rule of thumb—don't tell your readers what to do.

Victor: What? O.o? Those really are the only choices.

Alex: Still…

Victor: Whatever. Okay, on to noting the **important stuff: **this story has supporting characters (that's the big word here) that are OC's (original characters of my…okay,_ 'Alex's'_ design), but they **don't** _dictate_ the story. They play somewhat important parts, but _this continues to be a fight_ between **Boy Wonder vs. "you-know-who"** (and no, it's not Lord Voldemort. Its ol' one-eye) so just relax. I hate 'Mary Sues' anyway so don't worry about me (us) creating any of those either. Really, the OC's are only there to get the problem out in the open with a little mystery veiled over it…Now what?

Alex: Summary, Disclaimer, (any other comments you want to write,) and finally the actual chapter.

Victor: YAY—gotcha!...But how do you write a summary?

Alex: _(sigh)_ Just give me the keyboard…

**SUMMARY: A life is a life no matter who the person is. That's what makes saving them so hard. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Robin has to decide whose life comes first when Slade puts the pressure on…**

Victor: Wow…I like that.

Alex: Okay—now you write the Disclaimer.

Victor: Yay! My turn!

**DISCLAIMER: **Do I own this? HA! Trust me when I say the world would be ending if I did.

Victor: Now I start?

Alex: Yep. Go crazy.

**CHAPTER ONE: A plan…**

There were days when autumn felt colder than winter. The trees continuously lost their leaves, their stiff black branches stretching up toward the moon in the dead of the night, and the wind whistled an agonized tune that shook the shingles and wisped through the eaves. The parks tended to be peaceful. The weekend nights tended to be crazy when downtown city was concerned, but tonight there was no one but himself strolling along the park pathway past the lake and into a small clearing where six benches lined up next to each other to form a circle. Tall dark trees loomed forward from the outside of the circle, almost leaning down toward him as he took his seat. This was the second last meeting of the ten scheduled. He only had to meet with the man last time before he could ignore the fact that he was going to bring a dreadful end to many lives.

Just one more after this…

There was a rustling sound in the bushes off to his left which prompted him to his feet. He was surprised to see a petty thief fly into the clearing, hitting the pavement hard and falling unconscious upon contact.

Perhaps the park wasn't the most peaceful place after all.

Swallowing hard, the old man stumbled back. Drawing his long black coat tighter around his body, arms crossed for warmth, he watched closely as his employer stalked out from the shadows into plain sight. If his height and muscle size wasn't enough to scare a person half to death, the half-black/half-orange mask, complimented with just one eye, was enough to stop anyone dead in their tracks. The petty thief was a fool to think he could jump the mercenary.

"I trust you brought it?" The dark figure asked, holding out a hand to take the next part of his machine.

Dr. River, shoving a shaky hand into the front pocket of his coat, took out the disk and stepped only close enough to put it in his hand. Then he backed away a few steps, keeping his distance.

The man looked down at the disk, examining it for a moment before his cold gray eye shot up to stare at Dr. River. "If you were a wise man, Dr, you would leave the west side of the city the day after our last meeting."

"That…that soon?" He stuttered; horrified at how fast time flew by.

The man said nothing. He turned is back to Dr. River and started back into the shadows, pausing only once to glance off into the thick forest on his left…then he was gone.

And in the forest, hand pressed against a tree trunk, stood another dark figure just a little ways out of the clearing's view.

"_Dance, dance, said the man to the puppet." _The second figure whispered. _"Dance, dance, 'til your feet bleed red…"_

-R-

Waking up was never a problem for him. Getting around his friends and their many questions of "Did you stay up all of last night again?" was a different matter entirely. So what if he was an insomniac? At least he wasn't making plans to destroy the world while everyone was asleep.

Getting up, he had something to eat, did a little training, said hello to everyone in the tower, separated himself from the rest of his friends and locked himself up in his "office" (Victor: Neither of us knows what he calls it…sorry…any suggestions are welcome…). Then he rolled out any information he had on unsolved cases and got to work…

Until there was a knock on the door.

At first he wanted to pretend it was just his imagination, but the pounding continued until he trudged over to the door and opened it. Today…he felt like Raven.

"Yes?" He asked, staring at Beast Boy. Of all people, why Beast Boy.

"Hey…" BB started, trying to look over Robin's shoulder into the room. "Whatcha do'in?"

"What I always do. Work."

"Um…can I help?"

Robin raised an eyebrow behind his mask. "You want to help?...What did you do this time?"

BB didn't have to answer that. Right then Raven yelled his name in the background and there was a sound coming from the kitchen that resembled a microwave exploding.

"Please! It's only so she won't find me. I promise to leave in an hour…"

An hour with BB…

Robin decided to humor him anyway. Besides, it'd be considered homicide if he left Beast Boy in Raven's hands, and what would that make him then?

"Fine…" He sighed, stepping aside to let the boy in before closing the door behind him. "Just don't break anything."

"Sure thing…"

He took his seat back at the large table seat out in the middle of the room, rummaging with one of his old weapons. There was something wrong with the charge…

"What can I do?"

Robin didn't look up. "Read."

"Read what?"

Still staring at the faulty weapon, he reached for a file of the latest newspaper clips and tossed it across the table to BB. "Try…and find…something…"

"Like secret messages about Slade's plans?"

Robin paused. "Yeah…sure…See if you can find anything like that…" He highly doubted that though. He'd been through the clips a thousand times and so far he came up with nothing…

There was silence for a long while. Robin was left in his peace to fix his weapons and BB seemed to be taking his work seriously. He had pieces of the clips spread out everywhere on his side of the table, placing them together like a loose puzzle. Then he hit the table.

"I found something!"

Huh?

"Look!" Beast Boy ran to his side of the table and waved a clip in his face. "I'm serious, come look at this!"

"I already have." He sighed. "And I've found nothing." But he reached out anyway and took the newspaper clip from his friend, looking it over. It was from the 'Letter's to the Editor', written by a Dr. River who specialized in a variety of things. There was something odd, however, but Robin had gone over it before. Dr. River continuously wrote articles containing subjects on capital punishment, something he wasn't big on anyway.

"I've seen this before." He handed it back to BB. "What's new about it?"

"Alone, it isn't much…" BB started, grabbing Robin's arm and dragging him to the other side of the table. He put the clip back in its place among the many he found and pointed to the first few letters. "But see—put them together and this is what you get: S.L.A.D.E.H.A.S.B.O.M.B.T.U.E.S."

…He had to admit…that was odd…

-_Unknown_-

"This isn't about games. Are you sure you heard them right?"

It was cold, it was windy, and he had a long list of better things to do than wait outside in the middle of a park forest waiting for some insane asylum patient to show up and tell him her news of the day in series of long metaphors.

Shoving his hands into his jacket pockets, he shivered once and stepped closer to the tree, trying to see way up there on the higher branches past the flaming leaves.

"Marionette! I'm talking to you!"

"I hear…and I listen…" He saw something move. "I'm thinking…"

"About what?"

"The figure…the second figure…He's not nice to play with…"

He rolled his eyes. "Like I care. Everyone knows Slade is evil—so just tell me what you heard!"

"I already did!" She hissed. "The man is building a puzzle, but he doesn't have all the pieces. One more night of spoken words and you will find this Riverman floating beneath the bridge."

He knew she was talking about the bomb in the first sentence, but the second one would take some time for interpretation. She was either telling him that this Dr. River would have one more meeting with Slade before the bomb was ready and then he would _either_ A) Take a boat to who knows where; B) Go into hiding; or C) (and this one made more sense to him) Be killed by his employer since Slade was not likely to trust anyone for long.

"I thought you were supposed to _kill_ the _'Riverman'_ when you saw him last night." He shouted up to her. "What happened to that, Mary?"

There was a pause. "The second figure came too quick…He frightens me."

"That never stopped you before. I thought you liked things that scared you."

"Yes. He is fascinating too, but a robin can't fight the hawk. He killed a sparrow already tonight, or had the intentions of such in any case…"

That would mean the thief they found knocked-out on the pavement.

"Will you ever confront him?" He asked.

"…Should the need ever arise, then I would give it my all. But my limbs are rope compared to his and I know my darkest hour would be timed closely by none other than that same man…And perhaps that isn't such a bad idea…"

"Suicidal now, are we?" He muttered.

"I said before, I hear and listen. Don't take my words lightly."

"Maybe if you would learn to speak in plan English, we wouldn't have this problem. Now come down from there. We're leaving."

"Ah yes…the master says _'Dance—dance!'_ again. Should I bow before the curtain or will there be another performance some other night?"

He sighed. "…We'll talk about this later. If you're hungry, then I suggest you get down here before I start counting back from ten."

"Hungry…Yes." He heard her laugh—or cackle more like. It was the laugh of the devil. "Will you feed me _my_ food, or shall I nibble on your dull plates? Why not let me add a little salt…"

He only understood the first sentence, and even that was enough to flare his temper again.

"Mary! I'm serious!"

"…It was worth a try…Perhaps some day I will cook for you. Then, maybe, you will acquire my taste."

His stomach flipped. "I highly doubt that…" He murmured.

"I am coming!" She shouted before the leaves rustled. "If I should do my job better than you asked—and in the means of far exceeding what you asked—I think a bet should be made. Indeed…you will taste my food not before long…"

Good grief…this was going to be one hell of a week…

-V-

Victor: Further descriptions will be given, but for now I want to let your minds roam.

Alex: But for clarification, this "Marionette" is indeed…insane…to a degree. But is she really? We'll let you be the judge of that based on what your morals and beliefs are. These two new characters you just met were the OCs—but, as said before—

Victor:--they're not the main characters. They're just there to make the plot more interesting. But besides that—time is short and we have to get going. I hope I interested you in one way or another—so be nice! This is a first try…

Alex: We'll both see you guys later on my account. Until then—

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring,_

_And_

_Alexnandru Van Gordon_

Alex: Wow…it really feels weird signing last…

Victor: Mwah ha ha ha! You are at my mercy!

Alex: -.-…Oh joy…


	2. Chapter 2

Hurt to Save

Victor Van Heiring

Greetings, people. I'm here, Alex is leaving tonight for a short while (a week or two I think, although he'll still have a computer to read your work with), and I wanted to write chapter two.

First off, I would like to thank **Rowlingfan**, **bunnyaven**, **Liobit**, **RobinisDaBomb**, **robinfan652**, and **hhgbh** for being my first reviewers ever. Someone asked why I decided to make my account name **The Brother of SilverCross51**. It was because even though I'm typing everything up, Alex is there for the plan making. This story was the first story he had an outline written for (even before Blast to the Supposed Past and My Enemy) but he threw it out. I grabbed it, remolded it, and stole HW's (Marionette) _original_ layout plan. If you ever read Alex's "Blast" series, you know who HW is, and if you remember the part where she went insane…well, you'll see how things were supposed to go. Alex has a fetish for making his OCs terribly flawed and killed off with dishonour on their souls…

Okay—the pace is about to be picked up quite quickly. I'm not going to keep the action waiting (unlike Alex, who relies more on speech and mystery…which I plan to have too).

WARNING: (I have to add this) this contains a murderer who…has an interesting method of homicide. I might not actually show him/her killing, but you will know what it is exactly they do—and it DOES NOT include rape.

Have fun!

DISCLAIMER: Refer to chapter one.

CHAPTER TWO: Anti-freak

"Talk about seclusion…This guy must hate having neighbors…"

Robin had to agree with that. Telling the team that he and BB were working on a lead (which Raven and Cyborg looked utterly stunned at when he said "Beast Boy") to Slade's plans, Robin made his way out to the far west side of the city just a block away from the large and beautiful Aimsville Park. He, of course, waited until night to get there, using the cold and dark atmosphere to scare answers out of Dr. River if he gave them any trouble or was hesitant on telling them why he put the hidden message in the newspaper. If Dr. River had been so keen on revealing Slade's plan, then he should have tried to contact some sort of force in the city, the police or the Titans. He was a smart man…

"Talk about insecurity…" Beast Boy mumbled, sticking out a finger toward the ten foot tall iron gate. Neither of them would be surprised if they found landmines buried under the front lawn.

"Don't touch—"

"_OW!_" BB drew his finger back, blowing at the dark spot on the tip of his glove. "Dude, I so don't want to be fried by this guy! He doesn't even have a speaker box…or a mailbox…"

"I guess he doesn't like visitors…" Robin muttered, slipping his bo-staff from his belt. Extending it, he started to back away from the gate. "You might want to step aside, BB. You could fly over if you want."

"_Fly over_! Dude, do you see any other animals on the other side of the gate? They're probably all fried now too…"

"Or, it could be the cold."

"Or the cold…fine." BB stepped back and morphed into a hawk, flapping his wings and rising over the gate just as Robin was about to take his run.

Then the front door creaked and a dark figure stepped out onto his doorstep. Tucked securely under his left arm was a small package wrapped up in brown paper…

-D.R.-

Shivering in the cold, he drew his coat tighter around his body with his free hand as he started down the small path toward his front gate. Reaching it, he spied through the bars in search of anyone watching before dialing in a code on the inside of the gate and passing through unharmed. Then his pace quickened, hurrying for Aimsville Park.

It didn't take him long to reach his destination. It was the same place as last time and no one was around (as usual). He was utterly alone…

But this time the wait was longer. Taking a seat on one of the stone benches, he set the brown package down on his lap and sighed a puff of white clouds. What if something happened to his employer? What if this was a trap?

Trap.

_Trap._

Well now, there's the word-of-the-day.

"_Freeze…" _

Dr. River didn't even dare to turn around as he felt the cold hard barrel end of a gun pressed to the back of his head. He heard the sound of more people cocking their guns and then saw a few tiny red lights come to life around him in the bushes.

He was surrounded.

"Hand me the package." The man behind him ordered, holding out his arm over Dr. River's shoulder for him to see. "And don't try to run. You'll only die."

"I-I…can't."

"Can't what? Run or die?"

"Give you this…" Dr. River stared down at the package. If this guy didn't kill him, Slade would…

"Huh?" There was the whining noise of some other gun warming up, more red dots light up in the bushes around the first. There were more sounds of confusion before all hell broke lose.

-R-

Perhaps it was for the best that they followed quietly. The moment they caught up to the man, they stopped short—and out of sight—of a group of Feds…or whatever they were. The shooters were hidden behind the trees and bushes, aiming at a small clearing of benches.

"Whoa…" BB gasped. Robin covered his mouth and dragged him away as they dove behind a separate bush. One of the men turned around the see what the ruckus was, but tossed his worried aside as he returned to the task at hand. It was then that one of the many Slade-bots to arrive dropped down from the branches and ambushed the men.

"Looks like a double set-up." Beast Boy muttered. "Poor guys."

"Poor guys?" Robin reached to his belt and took out a few explosives, tossing them at the feet of the advancing robots. "I doubt they even work for the government."

"You mean they're not cops?"

"Yes."

"Oh….Since when did we care about the government?"

Robin grinned. "Never."

BB shrugged, morphing into a cheetah before breaking out at a furious pace toward the battle. Robin made out at a mad dash behind him, tossing explosives here and there as the robots turned to see them. A few of the men, unarmed now by the robots, stepped aside as they passed forward.

They needed to get to Dr. River before anyone else did.

-BB-

Robin might have been slower, but he held back to fight off the growing mass of robots against the mysterious men. In the mean time, he made his way toward the circle of benches and morphed into a bloodhound. Putting his nose to the ground, he picked up Dr. River's scent…

Smiling inwardly, he changed again back into a cheetah and took off after the man. Sprinting as fast as he could until he caught sight of the doctor, he morphed back into a humanoid form and called after him.

"Wait! You're going to get yourself killed!"

The man only paused to look over his shoulder at the youth before picking up the pace.

"Stupid…" BB grumbled, about to change again—

—when a foot came out from nowhere and connected with his face. Disorientated, he stumbled back and hit a tree, rubbing his eyes as he slid to the ground, dizzy. Before he passed out he saw one thing.

A blur of black and orange.

-D.R.-

That was too close for his liking. It also meant that they were finally on to him…he was screwed…

Panting as he ran, he sprinted on until he reached a second clearing, the sound of gunfire and explosions dying in the distance. Maybe he was safe. Maybe he could still get away…

They was movement in the branches above him before somebody dropped down behind him, hitting him hard in the side of the head. Yelping, he fell to his knees and tuned over, eyes widening at what he saw.

"Hello, Riverman." She said. "Lend me a boat."

Tall and slim—almost too slim from starvation or stress—stood a woman decked entirely in black but as pale as a bone. Her skin was smooth but almost deathly, and around her eyes were dark circles created from the lack of sleep. Her hair, long and hanging down to her waist, was folded into a thousand tiny braids. Her suit, black in colour and not too tight, was covered in straps—but he doubted it was for style. The straps on her arms hung freely and looked as though they could be done up to pin her arms across her chest, almost like a built in straight jacket.

"W-who are you?" He stuttered. The moment she stepped forward he began to crawl back. "Well!"

"I am what I am, and what I am is what I was bent to be…" She smiled. Then she reached behind her back and her belt jolted around her waist as she detached something. Bringing her hand to her front, something silver flashed in the faint starlight. "I don't know what you are, but I know what you'll be…"

"No! Stop!" Scrambling back further and making it to his feet, he felt his package slip from beneath his arm.

"Hush, hush. I promise to be quick…"

-S-

He didn't intervene when he saw the girl come and go; didn't even care to show he was watching. But he did watch, and he saw her hoist the heavy body over her shoulder wearily and started on her way to dispose of it. Maybe she didn't notice the package on the ground…

Smiling to himself, Slade stepped forward from the shadows and bent down to pick up the small parcel. Weighing it in his hands, he turned around and left…

-D-

"Where is he?"

She shrugged, crossing her legs. Marionette tended to ignore them when her arms were locked.

"Mary, the sooner you tell me, the sooner I can let you go."

"Where else would the Riverman be besides in the water?"

"You killed him?" Placing his hands on his hips, he let out an irritated sigh. "It's a little late for that, don't you think? You were supposed to kill him before he gave the parcel to Slade—and, by the way, where the hell is that?"

She shrugged. "I do what you say. You say kill him—I kill him. But you said nothing of a parcel. You said nothing of a specific date."

"It's implied. Why the hell else would I want the doctor dead."

Again she shrugged. "I am what I am—and I killed him. Be thankful I kept my word about my diet."

"Yeah, yeah…just wait until the police find the body…" Stroking his chin with his hand, he shifted his weight on his feet and tried to think. "Well, the only thing left to do is gather my team and stop Slade head on before he came set the bomb off. You…"

"More fun?" She asked hopefully.

"No one dies this time."

"Oh…" She paused to absorb the words again. "_Oh_…"

"AND!" He thrust his finger forward inches away from her nose. "You're going back to the looney-bin, little miss, right after you complete your second task. Is that clear?"

She laughed. "Scouts honour!"

A lot of good that was…but she had the tendency of keeping her word. She had…her own laws that she prevented herself from breaking. And those laws had an interesting history behind them, something that had to do with her current mental state.

"So, you know what you have to do?" He asked for assurance.

"Inside and out." She replied, but then her voice softened, almost to a beg… "And…will you return my mask …?"

"I don't know…" He tapped his chin this time, thinking hard about the request. When she put on the mask it was like she was another person, but, then again, she wasn't any less crazy now. "Will you behave yourself? You should know that we'll be watching and that the moment you're done—wham! Back to the white room."

She shivered at the term, but nodded anyway. "Yes, yes—you have my word! And I swear: the little kittens are safe from my teeth."

"They better be…" He grumbled. Turning toward the door to the small office, he nodded at the small one-way mirror to Frank. Frank was one of the few other people Mary didn't attempt to bite or scare off by threatening to eat them.

Opening the door, he slammed it behind him and leaned against the nearby wall until Frank came over.

"She one screwed up patient." He muttered.

Frank smiled. "But she gets the job done."

"Ha! And to what degree?"

Frank laughed, turning the doorknob. "Just tell me when to call the asylum—Oh, and Mark called. He wants to know what we're going to keep the Titans out of this."

Dane was silent.

"They saw us last night."

"I know."

"They saved us last night."

"I know."

"They questioned the men too."

"…That I didn't know."

Frank laughed. "Don't worry. The two that were there got called off by their alarm. Thank God for the crazy villains."

"And cruse Satan for Slade…"

-R-

"So…they just appeared out of thin air?" Starfire did a circle around him, almost expecting to pick up trances of magic off him.

"No…They were stationed there. And so were Slade's robots." Sighing to himself, Robin made his way toward the main computer, tossing Beast Boy a bag of ice. He found his teammate unconscious in the thick mass of trees, the sole of a boot imprinted on his face in dirt. Judging by the side, it wasn't a robot. It had to be one of the agents they found around the area.

And who exactly were they working for? Since when did they take up major villain cases without the permission of the JL and either the Teen Titans or Titans East (depending on which city the crime was taking place.

Making it to the consol, he stood next to Cyborg. The half-robotic man was typing away at the keyboard feverously; eyes pinned on the screen as multiple windows popped up.

"Anything?"

"Nothing." Cyborg replied. "Whatever they're doing and whoever they're working for, they don't have any permission whatsoever to—oh wait, here we go." He grinned to himself and back clicked a few of the windows. "No one gets past me…"

They're eyes widened.

"Anti-_freak_?" Raven asked, reading one of the words. "The government permitted a separate branch to operate against all hero organizations."

"In hopes to replace us?" Starfire asked meekly.

"No idea." Cyborg began again, searching through the hacked information. "It says they've been operating for three years and have so far stopped three world-wide crises that went absolutely unnoticed to everyone else. They're against…apparently, anyone with special, un-human ability."

"Including us?" Beast Boy squeaked from where he sat. With one hand he pressed the ice pack to his forward, and with his other her rubbed his face clean with a washcloth.

"Yep."

"Even the JL?"

"Yep."

"Even Robin, Batman, Green Archer and Speedy?"

"Uh…" Cyborg searched further. "They might be penalized for working with us, but I don't actually know…Maybe they'd get angry at them for being vigilantes."

"Name one organization that's entirely good and isn't made up of vigilantes." Robin muttered.

Starfire raised her hand. "The force of the police?..."

Raven sighed. "They're corrupt too."

"Oh…"

-V-

Oooooh…long chapter. I wonder when I'll find time to write the next one. Alex's coming home in a day or toy, so he's going to be updating again. Oh—and I might change the title…I don't know…it's sounds pretty lame to me, but that might be because Alex never stopped me for making it…I'll see.

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring_


	3. Chapter 3

Hurt to Save

Victor Van Heiring

Wow…I really need a new title.

Alex's been gone for ages, working on loads of homework. He hasn't been able to write as of late so he asked me to apologize to those of you who read his stories. I think "The League's Hunt" is up on the schedule for his next update…

Anyway, I'm just going to give another **warning** for future violence and something else. In this story **Marionette** makes quite a few references to various theories, quotes and stories. I will put a number beside each reference and then the explanation at the bottom of the page so that you won't get confused. But…well, you'll just have to read to find out what exactly her purpose is in the story. Anyone who can guess what it is…I don't know. Gets a prize…

DISCLAIMER: Refer to chapter one.

CHAPTER THREE: Divide and conquer

Tuesday took forever to end. It made Monday look like a Saturday, and not in length. Having only one day to make up a plan, Dane was on his wits end as he paced back and forth across his office. He had indeed figured something out—had it in sitting in the background for a while, actually—but now he wasn't so sure about it…

Well, one thing was for sure. If you aggravated the leader of the Titans, the kid was sure to put up a fight. Then his crew of freakish vigilantes would follow suit—out of Dane's way and far from Slade's…hopefully. Dane knew exactly what Slade was up to and he also knew Slade would be contacting the Titans tonight after the bomb was set.

Bomb might have been the wrong word for it. It could be time and it could be set off with a controller but it was more of a large gun than anything else, fit tightly into one of the few fault lines beneath Jump City. One sonic blow and the west half of the city would come tumbling down on thousands of heads…

Sometimes he hated his job…

"Ready, sir?" Mark asked as he peeked his head around the door. "The rest of the men are ready to go and Jake wants to know when to call Marionette."

Dane sighed. "Tell him to call her now, and make sure they're watching her this time. None of the kids are allowed to die."

Mark, a short slim man with short blond hair, had to grin. "Jeez, Cap. You're really the only one on the team who wants anybody dead."

"Shut up, Mark. Monitor the air waves and make sure you intercede between any messages sent to Titans Tower. I don't want their alarms going off too soon and I sure as hell don't want Slade getting them involved."

The young man didn't need to be told twice. He disappeared behind the door as he pulled his cell-phone from his pocket and called up Jake. Tonight was going to be a night that everyone would remember…either fondly or with deepest regrets…

-R-

Tuesday was the day he had been dreading to see since the little letter Beast Boy had picked out from the newspaper clippings. The entire team was ready for that one little call that would sound once Slade made his move, although Robin was kind of hoping to find out what the insane villain was up to before his plot became a threat to the city. With one day to do that…well, he had next to no time to even start a proper search for this supposed "bomb" Dr. River was trying to warn them about. His guess was that it would be somewhere near the center of the city where the most damage would take place, or near the coastline where the water would contribute to the destruction of the city.

Either way, he still dreaded Tuesday night when it came.

"Dude, you're driving me bonkers here! Can't you pace in your mind?"

Robin only paused to glare at BB before continuing his march. Cyborg was still at the consul looking up more on the "Anti-Freaks" while Starfire and Raven were somewhere off on their own in preparation for another full-out attack from Slade.

"What if he doesn't do anything tonight?" BB murmured. "Maybe he sent the letter through Dr. R. to lead us off…"

Robin nearly tripped at that notion.

For someone as stubborn and clueless as Beast Boy…he could sure have a stroke of genius when he put his mind to it.

"No kidding." Cyborg added, turning to look at his two pals. "Did Dr. River look like a brave enough man to put letters in the newspaper ratting Slade out? That's like…a published death-wish."

"I know…BB's probably right too, but we have nothing else to go with."

Beast Boy's eyes lightened up again. "And what if he didn't mean this Tuesday? He could have meant any Tuesday!"

Hopefully not…Robin didn't think he could stand dreading every Tuesday that rolled by. That would be…absolutely horrible.

"You look pale." Cyborg said.

"I just wish something would come up." He admitted wearily. If he had to wait another minute he'd just about—

'_I hope I'm not interrupting anything?'_

Startled, Cyborg jumped away from the main computer and stared up at the screen as it black-out before showing the team's archenemy. Shoulder's up with a black background, all the three could see was Slade.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Do you have us on call-forwarding or something because you're really the only one who doesn't call us through the phone?"

Slade ignored him, focusing his attention on Cyborg and Robin, and the two girls as they flew into the room. A silent alarm was set to go off in the halls once the main computer was contacted from an unknown source.

"Make it short." Robin said bluntly, voice hard and frustrated. "Before we hang up."

'_I—'_

"_I hope you don't mind if I steal your kids for a sec." _A second voice came, younger and female. The screen hit static for a moment, cutting Slade's shot in half as his eye narrowed dangerously before blocking him out completely. _"I promise to make this quick."_

The screen blacked-out entirely. The Titans waited in eerie anticipation for the newcomer to show and were quite surprised to see what they saw next. Also with a dark background, but with barren trees lining the faint horizon, came the picture of a woman from the waist up. Adorned in a fit black body suit with long black hair braided into many small braids was their newest caller. It would have been nice to at least see her face but that was covered by a smooth white mask, the eye sockets and an upside-down crescent over the mouth both painted crimson red to conceal her identity entirely.

"Dude…who are you?" Beast Boy breathed, making an odd face at the sight of her. She would have been the first person to interrupt a conversation between the Titans and Slade…and they doubted Slade was the kind of guy who would let that pass.

"_Marionette, little boy. And I'm just calling…"_ She titled her head to one side curiously. _"…to see if you want to play."_

"Now…might not be the best time."

Her head turned ever-so-slightly, just to show that she was staring at Robin. _"And this is coming from a hero? I thought your everlasting duty was to defend the weak and innocent, and yet, here I am, with the fate of your city in my hands. Bravo, boy. You make a wonderful negotiator."_

The screen found static as the young lady prepared to disconnect their conversation.

"Wait!" Cyborg yelled. "What do you mean?"

"_I know much of your history and I grew jealous of your adversaries. Surely **you** would grow to become the champions of this world, but the one who caught your attention first was the Halloween man. And with one eye only! Woe…So I followed suit and called you up."_

"Why?..." Robin was cautious now. It wasn't too often that someone called out of the blue just to pick a fight with them…but this woman didn't sound like she was in her right mind. Who knew?

-S-

Being cut out of a conversation was not something he would put up with. He didn't care if it was Satan himself who interrupted—he_ wasn't_ going to let some _woman_ humiliate him like that!

But still…she must have been insane to do what she did. Perhaps her conversation held some importance to him.

Tapping into his computer once more, he reconnected to their conversation but remained hidden. Fooling around with the screen, he divided it in half. The right side showed the Titans as left revealed the most peculiar girl…

It was the woman who killed Dr. River, but this time her face was masked.

"_And this is coming from a hero? I thought your everlasting duty was to defend the weak and innocent, and yet, here I am, with the fate of your city in my hands. Bravo, boy. You make a wonderful negotiator."_

"_Wait!_ _What do you mean?"_

"_I know much of your history and I grew jealous of your adversaries. Surely **you** would grow to become the champions of this world, but the one who caught your attention first was the Halloween man. And with one eye only! Woe…So I followed suit and called you up."_

"_Why?..."_

What an interesting question.

"_Why else? I came to fight the great Teen Titans. And unless someone dies tonight, I'll set off the bomb I have planted under the city."_

"_Another one!"_ He heard the green changeling squeak.

"_I'll see you at the park, lovelies. Don't be late. I press the button unless I have a fight…"_

Then he screen blacked-out, and the picture of the Titans filled his screen. Still oblivious to him, they conversed amongst themselves, almost all at once.

"_Great—that makes two—what about Slade's—what do we do about this one—we split up—someone stays back in case Slade shows up—three go find the bombs—but what about the Anti-Freaks—how long do we have—someone has to go after her—"_

It was amazing they understood each other.

"_No offense, man…" _Cyborg started. _"But maybe it's for the best that you don't run into Slade in the city—"_

"—_or stay back to take his call." _Raven added.

"_So…I should take on this 'Marionette'?"_

"…_Well...it is a fight she seeks, does she not?"_

Robin turned to Starfire with a grin. _"Alright, if it's a fight she wants, then it's a fight she gets. Cyborg, you stay back and see what Slade's up to. Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy—you spilt up and start searching potential hide-outs for her bomb. I'll make my way down to the park…"_

Maybe this wasn't a bad thing after all. Robin would be alone and he knew there was nothing inhuman about that woman. He could take her out and get the boy while he was miles away from his friends.

Shutting off the screen, he turned around and signaled to his robots. Just in case the Titans did find any bomb, he wanted to keep them distracted as long as he most possibly could.

-M (Marionette)-

She watched the men leave as they took down their equipment, off to find Slade or stay in the shadows in case she called for help. She doubted she would need them though. What she said was true—someone was going to die tonight and she suspected that would most likely be her.

The wait wasn't long though…the boy came right on time.

-R-

"The Park" in general was rather large and he was taking a stab in the dark by going down to Aimsville Park instead of JC Park. But that seemed to be the perfect place for a small criminals hide-out, and the background showed a thick crowd of trees, none evergreens. That meant she was most likely in Aimsville.

But he could be wrong.

Something drew him to the area where he last saw Dr. River, in the clearing with the cement benches laid out in a circle. The Anti-freaks…perhaps she had something to do with them. It couldn't have been coincidence that she interrupted Slade's conversation at that exact moment. She had to have monitored their line, and even then…no one worked alone anymore these days unless they had a robotic army behind them. Everyone had been waiting for Slade to make a move.

"All alone? What is expected of a friend when the world continuously changes the expectations of one? Surely they wouldn't send you on your own…"

"You said you wanted a fight." He growled, looking for the source of her voice. It came from above. "You never specified _who_ you wanted to fight."

She laughed…and he shivered. "The pen is mightier than the sword (**1**), but the sword is sure to meet its mark. Perhaps I should have been more specific…"

"You should have also been more specific about the location."

There was a pause…then something hit the ground gently behind him. He spun around just in time to see something shimmer in the darkness toward his face. Reaching up with his right hand, she caught her wrist and blocked the punch that followed with his other forearm. The knee that met with his gut was unexpected and she was able to free herself long enough to jump back…

She kept her appearance, still wearing the eerie red and white mask. Her braids hit her leather suit and made a small noise as they fell across her mask.

He could almost see her smiling.

She pointed the tip of her dagger at him and laughed again. "You're not bad, little boy. Good enough that I could almost eat you alive…(**2**)"

He didn't answer to that comment and instead reached to his belt for his bo-staff. She charged again and he blocked her out-stretch blade with his extended weapon. He blocked twice again as she swung her arm back and tried to catch him in to ribs before hitting her directly in the face and knocking her backwards. He hit her hard enough to knock her into a fumbled back-flip. She landed with both feet and one hand digging into the cold earth to stop her slid backwards. Then she charged forward again, making it look as though she was about to strike with the dagger, but instead bringing both feet up toward his chest. He blocked with his bo-staff once more, but it pushed him down so he fell and propelled her high enough into the air that she was able to grab a branch with her free arm.

"Not bad…" Marionette stared down at him. Tilting her head back slightly, she laughed again before swinging herself up to sit on the branch.

"Why are you doing this to the city? Why did you plant a bomb!"

"Why did the towers fall (**3**)? Why do you have representatives running the country? Why do we have religion? It's all about proving a point, letting your voice be heard, showing what you believe in. Someone out there thinks that their thoughts are more important than anyone else's…Why are you a hero?"

"…Long story."

"I bet mine is longer." Then she jumped back down, foot aimed toward his face. But this time he didn't block it with the staff. Instead he moved it aside and grabbed her foot, swinging her around until he let go, throwing her into a tree. Back colliding with the trunk, she gasped in pain and hit the ground.

"Fair shot, lovely…let's move on to round two…"

-V-

(**1**) _"The pen is mightier than the sword"_ –the first part of Marionette's sentence is taken from Voltaire, a famous philosopher who spread the ideas of liberty in France before the French revolution.

(**2**) _"…that I could almost eat you alive…"_ –I personally don't know where this saying comes from and I really don't care—what you should know is that this is a reference to Marionette's strange nature, which will explain why she's insane in the first place. You'll see more of these kinds of saying from her and will later find out she is cannibalistic in her ways, hence the comments Dane made on her 'diet' and the bet she made with him about him trying one of her 'meals' for once…You'll find out why to that soon.

(**3**) _"…towers…"_ –reference to the Twin Towers.

And there you have it! Chapter three! I tried to make it nice and long so…here it is…I hope you liked it.

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring_


	4. Chapter 4

Hurt to Save

Victor Van Heiring

Honestly…if anyone has any better ideas for a title, then I'm all ears. I think next chapter I'm going to change it so…yeah…I'll warn you when I do.

And did you know there's a "reply" button for each review given to your stories?...I never knew that! Why don't people tell me these things! That's just insane…wait—does that mean they don't want the writers talking to the readers in their updates…like now…AH! Where's Alex when I need him. He's had his nose stuck in the books for too long…If anyone has his e-mail address, I advise you to talk to him (because he doesn't listen to me), otherwise you'll never see him or his stories again…Dun Dun Dun…

Anyway—on with the plan!

**IMPORTANT:** And yes…you will find out what the Anti-Freaks and Slade are up to—it's part of the plot to keep you in the dark! But anyone who makes a correct guess must be a genius…

CHAPTER FOUR: Divide and conquer: Part 2

"_The docks."_

Dane raised an eyebrow, clicking his walkie-talkie back on as he lifted his coat off the back of his chair and stared out the far window of the office toward the sea. "You sure?"

"_Hey—it's old, abandoned and big. He's using one of the warehouses…Why? You sound a little concerned."_

Dane didn't like to make things harder for his teammates, but Mark might have been walking into a trap. "Sounds a little…I don't know…_cliché_? It's one of the last places I'd think to look, sure, but…I don't think he's that 'obvious', if you understand what I'm trying to say. I've been chasing this guy for a year now. If not for the total apocalypse over Jump City with the mountain-moving blonde, I'd still be wandering the globe in search of him."

"_I agree, but the guys with the guns said they picked up the trace signature of toxic chemicals coming from this area. And guess what? Someone smart decided to take a look yesterday and—lo-and-behold—he found a large steel crate that was nailed shut. We just got it open."_

"—and you called me to say there's a bomb inside."

"_Looks like a timed bomb—still ticking away, by the way—but our guys can deal with that. What has us worried…"_

Where the heck was the controller? Knowing Slade, he probably had a spare too. The man wasn't stupid—not in the slightest bit. He was too intelligent to undermine and too quick to plan ahead for his murderous onslaughts, but somehow they managed to stick in his shadow and keep close enough to hit him home. Then again, Slade was probably playing with them. Every other freak they captured before was pie compared to Deathstroke the Terminator, and Dane seriously doubted their game of chess would be ending any time soon.

Not enough lives had been lost yet…

"Be careful. Half the Titans are searching the city for the fake bomb, one's in the tower in case of another odd call and I heard from Tate that Robin decided to head Marionette off alone. They should be out of the way for a while."

"_Yeah, but then…where does that leave—"_

Mark's voice was interrupted by a loud explosion in the background. The walkie-talkie on the other end continued to pick up sound, so Dane doubted it was the large bomb that went off, but the shouts of panic and terror that followed did nothing to settle his nerves.

_Slade_.

"_Interrupting my personal conversation with the Titans, Dane? Really, haven't you learned anything in this past year? Oh—and I do so hope I'm not interrupting anything important for you…"_

Yep…

Slade.

"Don't get comfy. I have more one team out there."

"_I expected no less, Dane. You might have found a loose thread in the seam to pick at, but you won't go far with this. Your little puppet trick is cute, but even I can tell she's not pulling the strings. The Titans might jump to conclusions and fall for it in the beginning, but I don't think you're capable of out-smarting a bunch of kids. This young lady shouldn't be that hard to kill…"_

"Be my guest." He growled. "One less freak for me to worry about."

"_But she's entirely human. Isn't the word 'freak' used for metahumans?"_

"Metahumans and insane-asylum patients Slade. You seem to fit in both categories."

"_It was nice to see you again too, Dane. And thanks for the small gift. I'm sure he'll be useful…"_

Dane's breath caught in his chest and he froze… "Mark…" He breathed, worried for his friend now. The shouting in the background had died down entirely now, but he knew someone must have survived. Then there was a cry of agony and a quick _snap_ like a bone breaking in half. Labored breath followed in the background and Slade came on once again.

"_I take this 'Mark' is the young man with blonde hair? His arm doesn't look too well…"_

He could tell him to stop, but then he'd only do worse. Yet he couldn't leave Mark all on his own…

"_Thanks you for the guest, Dane. He lives so long as you stay out of the way."_

"Of what? Getting that spiky-haired kid?" He snapped. "We're not just going to let you kidnap someone and you know that."

There was silence on the other side of the line for a moment. Either Slade was enraged that he spoke out of turn, or the mercenary didn't quite expect him to know his second plan yet. One: blow Jump City to kingdom-come; two: "apprentice-ize" the Teen Titans' leader again.

Dane didn't wait for Slade to answer. He flipped his walkie-talkie over and pulled out the batteries. Then he lifted his phone and dialed up Jake. The man took too long to answer—for Dane's liking, anyway—before answering with a sigh.

"_Boss?"_

"Watch Mary—Slade's on his way to kill her and grab the kid—If you see him, fill him up with as much lead as your guns can hold."

"_Whoa—say that again? Mary's dead?"_

"Tell her I want her to fight Slade."

"_Um…first off, she's scared to death of him. And secondly, he'll knock her down dead in just three hits. You're basically asking her to dg her own gave."_

"Yeah, well, she really doesn't care about dying. Otherwise she would have asked her doctor to keep us away from her. She likes to take orders Jake—she won't disobey you if you ask her to fight him."

"_Yeah…but would you mind telling me why the sudden change of plans?"_

"We don't know where the bomb is after all, and Slade has Mark as a hostage."

"_Oh…**Oh**, well then…isn't this a fine—ah! Got to go, Dane. The kids are killing each other—"_

"But, Jake—" He was too late. Jake cut him off and left the ling dead for Dane to hear it ringing in his ear. Furious, he slammed the receiver back down on the phone and ran toward the door, long coat whipping at his legs and he skidded to the end of the hall and burst outside toward his car.

This was only a small setback. He had a second plan…

-BB-

Slithering under the front consol, a crumpled piece of paper in hand, Beast Boy set to technical work for one of the first few times in his life. Smoothing the sheet of paper out across his chest, he held it near his nose and squinted closely at Cyborg's chicken-scratch, fast hand writing.

" 'Grab…lollipop looking...handle and pull toward your face…' Ok." He held the paper aside for a moment and searched around. Then he saw it—grabbed it—and nearly broke his nose when he yanked it toward his face. The computer beeped and a red light blinked under the consol and BB smiled. " 'If it beeped, you're doing good…'"

This was going to take a while…but he'd get it done eventually.

-M-

He was a hard hitter…as hard as she imagined him to be. Size was a major factor in many situations, but the scarecrow boy could pack a punch. No doubt there.

She was standing a top of branch when she lost him in the forest. They were separated for a minute and now she was worried that he had fled—not that he was a coward. No…she expected nothing less from him, but his friends could have called him away or he could have left to find the true enemy.

No…there he was…

Crouching down on the thick branch, she peeked down at a small clearing at the boy as he stopped and turned, trying to find her too. The last they saw of each other, Robin delivered a high-kick to one of Marionettes aerial attacks and that sent her soaring up into the trees.

Back turned to her position, all she had to do was take a good long jump and hit him in the back of the head. Perhaps she could knock him out and drag him off somewhere, but she was starving. Her energy was low and hadn't had anything to eat in two days. The doctors only gave her medicine.

Maybe he wouldn't mind if she bit him.

Just a second longer—

Something broad-sided her to the left and shoved her into the tree trunk. Winded, she lost balance on the branch and fell into a bush ten feet below, hitting the ground harder than what she hoped for.

Looks like there was another guest…

Robin didn't see him as he ran in the direction of her fall, but she stared up quietly, waiting, at that half painted mask and cold gray eye of the Halloween-man…

"Come and play…" Marionette whispered, adjusting her mask as she sat up. "We're having oh so much _fun_…"

"Give up yet?" The boy of wonders asked in a mock tone, pointing the end of his stick at her chest as she straightened to face him. She sized him up once before giving a sure nod and adjusted her mask again. It nearly flew off when she was pushed off the tree…

'_Pst, Mary!'_

"I hear voices in my head…" She said softly. Robin gave her an odd look but kept his stance, waiting for a surprise attack.

It was the small communicator in her ear.

'_Mary, keep the kid busy for a while longer. When I call you again, lead him away—but don't hurt him!'_

First they ask her to fight him and then they tell her not to hurt him. Where was the beat behind the dance? She certainly couldn't dance….

Keep him busy?

Okay.

"You fight vigorously, lovely." She started, circling with him now. "I would have never known for someone your age."

"Really?" He asked, soundly almost bored but attacking at the same time. He swung his staff diagonally downward toward her head, but she danced aside and continued to circle. "Usually people comment about my size."

"I've learned through the years that a little is really a lot. But time is measured as another grain. I don't fight children…you're a first."

"Everyone's different." He said, and this time she attacked. Marionette reached for her blade again, slipping it from her belt into her right hand, and lunged for his throat. He bent backward at an incredible angel and pushed her back with his staff between them.

Landing, she laughed. "Is that so? But that still doesn't explain why a little boy is also a little killer."

The comment seemed to hit a nerve. Robin's masked eyes narrowed dangerously and they circled closer, almost within arm's reach. "I've never killed anyone in my life."

She laughed again—and slashed at his face. This time however, he caught her in his swing and sent her oaring into another tree trunk. This time something stabbed her in the side and she cried out in anguish behind her mask as she pulled the impaled branch from between two right ribs. Slumping to the ground, she leaned her back against the exact same trunk and held the crimson branch in his plain view.

"Could have fooled me…" She answered softly. "You never became a hero to save lives. You're a hero for revenge. You're a hero because a low-life criminal murdered your parents and you wanted to be strong enough to kill him with your own two hands."

He paled at her words and took a step back, eyes averting from the bloody branch back to her face in panic. The AF wouldn't have sent her after someone without any information. She was indeed an insane-asylum "resident" but her talents came in handy then and again when she could be kept under control.

She had a way with words and once they told her all about a certain acrobat-dressed hero…well, she could piece together old news with a new face.

When he didn't answer, she continued… "And you continue to fight crime—_not_ because it's right or just or makes you look like the good guy. You fight because every guy you come across reminds you of him…because they remind you of the man who died before you could get to him. Silly little puppet…you're tangled in your strings. There's no use fighting the dead—their sons will only come back to haunt you (**1**)."

"And what about _you_?" He asked venomously. His voice, however, cracked at the beginning of the sentence. "You're no angel. Why do you fight? How many lives have you taken?"

"That all depends on your definition of _dead_ (**2**)." She answered, wincing as she shifted her position and forced herself to stand. The Halloween-man was still watching… "But I tell no lies, lovely. I eat people."

The horrified look he gave her was expected.

-S-

Interesting…that was something he would have to look into later. Why would the government let a cannibal loose on the same city they were trying to save…? Or maybe they weren't concerned with saving the city, but something _bigger_. They were willing to lose enough men, although Dane sounded quite upset when one of Slade's robotic clones picked up his friend at the warehouse. Maybe now he'd behave…

But in the meantime, he wanted to see where this was going…

-V-

**1**) _"—their sons will come back to haunt you…"_ –I can't actually remember where I heard this one (from Alex, actually, but he can't remember either), but the actually saying goes _"…don't speak ill of the dead, or their sons will come back to haunt you…"_ which basically means that, way back when (in the days of swordplay), young men had a habit of avenging their fathers if someone tried to disgrace our insult their family name.

**2**) _"…that all depends on your definition of **dead**…"_ –this has more to do with Marionette's mental condition. She was, in fact, Catholic—or I should probably say _is_ Catholic. Due to a major tragedy in her past, she took a bunch of her beliefs (various different beliefs) and created a system of laws and basic rules for herself and a small cult she was a part of. She believes in the human soul living on after death and that the act of murder frees your victim from their sins but gives them all to you. These both play an important part in the stories future. Her cannibalism also has something to do with the trauma she went through.

I hoped you liked the chapter. I have to get to sleep though because it's twelve thirty a.m. and I don't have insomnia like Alex…who is actually asleep right now. He was hogging the computer for a very very very very VERY long Physics lab which was driving him nuts a while ago because of a hard question…Poor guy.

I'll catch you guys later! And **Happy** (late) **Thanksgiving** fellow Americans. Up here in Canada they celebrated their Thanksgiving way back in October….it was weird because this is the first time I've done it the Canadian way…And it hasn't snowed yet either. Alex is worried because he said it should be up to our thighs by now (actually, by three weeks ago)…but he opens his window at night because he believes its hot…It is pretty warm…

I hope it doesn't snow that much December…that would be killer…

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring_


	5. Chapter 5

Hurt to Save—**Puppets**

Victor Van Heiring

**IMPORTANT: **YAY! So I finally came around to changing the title. As seen above, it will be switched from **'Hurt to Save' _to_ 'Puppets'** because of a lovely suggestion made by **Liobit**. She/he gets to go on my Christmas list this year and he/she deserves a big round of applaud from everyone (_clapping like a maniac_). But besides that, remember that the story isn't about Marionette. She's just there to get one of the plans in motion so chill when you read the end of this chapter. It's really all about **Robin vs. Slade** so don't freak out on me here…and thanks for your reviews. I really appreciate them.

CHAPTER FIVE: The new team

It was late at night and he could barely keep his eyes open. Waiting at the tower wasn't such a bad thing—hey, he got to sit around and do virtually nothing—but waiting for the one-eye psycho maniac to call (or that weird chick) was like a nightmare waiting to happen. In all honesty, some of the villains they fought really spooked the heck out of him.

'_BB, you there?'_

He jumped at first, falling off the couch onto the floor, but the voice came from the consol, not the screen, and the voice belonged to Cyborg, not Slade…Thank goodness.

"Dude, I'm here." He sighed, standing to brush himself off. "Any luck?"

'_I can't pick up anything with my scanners and so far I've found squat with my eyes. Raven and Starfire called me earlier. They each searched their sides of the town but we've got nothing.'_

Sitting back down again, he tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. "So…there is no bomb?"

'_Not from what we can tell, so we're going to join Robin. Could you take a look at the screen and tell us where exactly he is?'_

"No prob." Jumping to his feet again, he made his way over to the consol and switched the big screen on. Fiddling around with the buttons for a couple of seconds, he finally found the right one and five bleeping dots, each represented differently by a letter and a unique colour, came up on the screen. Robin's red R popped up in Aimsville Park. "Dude, he's where we had that fight last night. He's at Aimsville."

'_Thanks, BB. Stick around in case—'_

"_Having fun?"_

The screen remained the same, but Beast Boy didn't expect to hear the second voice.

AKA: Slade.

'_Man, he's not in the room with you…is he?'_

Slade chose to ignore Cyborg.

"_Since our last conversation together was so rudely interrupted, I decided to call back. I trust you're free?"_

Beast Boy didn't answer.

"_Yes? Good? Then I also trust you know you're new little friend really has no bomb set up in the city."_

'_How long did it take you to figure that out?" Cyborg boasted._

"_Not nearly as long as it took you."_

'…'

BB frowned.

"…_I expected as much from you—and I assume you're going to fight her anyway."_

'_BB cut the line.'_

"_And then what? Leave your leader to die on his own? Really…sometimes I wonder how you think…"_

'…'

"Dude…" Beast Boy muttered. "Spit it out or I _will_ cut the line. What makes you think people actually like listening your lectures?"

"_Quite simply, the bomb I have set out should take top priority, and trust me when I say you **won't** find it. There are more places in a city to hide a weapon of mass destruction aside from underground hide-outs and broken down warehouses. If you're good, I won't set it off."_

There was a long pause from both members of the Teen Titans as they each contemplated what Slade meant by being 'good'. But, of course, they were sure he'd explain himself in a second…

"_Sit tight in your little tower and make no attempt to contact your leader. I'll be watching you…"_

_Click._

His line ended.

'_Man! I'm not falling for that nonsense! If I just sat around every time some weirdo had a bomb in the city, I'd start rust. BB, you contact Robin. I'm gathering the girls and heading off to the Park. Meet us there when you're finished.'_

"Sure thing."

_Click._

What would Slade do anyway? It wasn't as though he was going to set off a bomb in the same city he stood in. Besides, the last major weapon of mass destruction he set up in the city turned out to be a dud which led them all on a wild goose chase. That's when he got Robin…

"I smell fish." Beast Boy muttered before taking out his own communicator. Then he dialed up Robin. "Hey, Rob? You there?"

"_I should have known such simple instructions would have been too hard for you to handle—and how would I know it would be you to break them?"_

Beast Boy freaked at the sound of their archenemy's voice, turning off his communicator before Slade dished out more bad news…That left him with only one choice…

Get to robin before Slade did…if he wasn't already there…

-R-

He didn't mean to hurt her like that…If he'd only known she would have been impaled on the branch he probably wouldn't have shoved her that hard—or at least not in that direction. But…

And she ate people? Was she being serious or was she just insane? Then again, if she was insane then she could have been a cannibal too. Then why was she fighting them…was it really all just because she wanted to fight 'the Teen Titans' or was there something else behind her plan. There could have been millions of reasons why she was there.

"What bothers you, lovely?" She asked in a gentle voice. She came off as sincere until she held out that bloody branch for him to see. "This? But I remain standing—ready to fight? Why does your conscience stop you now?"

Talk about hitting the nail on the head.

"Let's get this over and done with." He spat, trying to regain a calm composure. "You're going to jail."

"Ah, yes…the threat of moving from one prison to another; sounds _so_ dreadful…" She laughed…until her laugh died into a chocking cry and she fell silent for a moment. Then, quietly, she continued. "Am I even at the liberty to say I'm free now? Are you free? Tell me…what exactly is _freedom_? I know one definition, but I'm sure you know another…"

Marionette looked so pathetic right then and there, leaning off to one side—the side that was stabbed—with one hand holding the small branch while the other closed tightly around the hilt of her blade.

He humored her.

"Freedom is when you do what you want—when you become what you want and say the things that are truly on your mind."

"And are you free?"

He hesitated before giving a nod. "As free as I want to be."

"Then why do you wear a mask?"

…

"Freedom is partly that. But freedom is all on the inside. Anything can happen to a person's body—but when your will and your purpose are yours and yours alone…you're free." She shifted her weight, moving into an easier fighting position. "All we really have that we can call our own is our name and our conscience—even your mind is manipulated from day one."

They charged.

Again he abandoned his bo-staff and sought to fight her hand-to-hand. Surprisingly enough, she abandoned her blade as well and, when jumping clear of his axe-kick, slipped into the back of her belt. Then there came a moment when she was backed up against a tree, grunting from impact, and had their hands connected in a game of push and shove.

"If you were destined to be someone evil…" She started, working hard to say the words while trying to force him back. "…what would you do?"

What a curious question.

"I'd rather die." He muttered. "There have been chances when such a thing could have happened, but I turned away."

"Even as a prisoner?"

Suddenly Slade came to mind.

"Like I said." He assured her. "I'd rather die."

"I see…" With a final shove, she pushed him away and settled back into another martial art fighting stance. He followed suit but didn't attack.

"Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "I am curious to know how noble a hero is, but the clouds are in my way (_remember, she's insane_). I'm sure there are many people for whom you'd give your life to say—even the strangers that you come across in any daily routine of yours…but how many of those would you be willing to live for?"

To…_live_ for?

"You're more valuable alive then dead." She explained. "Your friends should move while you're still around, they should see you while you stand because both the good and the bad could make use of you while you're here."

She was hinting to something.

"What do you know about Slade?"

She relaxed, almost seeming relieved that he finally clued in. "Oops…" She joked. "Did I say too much? Please don't tell me I told you the one-eyed man's name as well…"

Either she really was insane…or she was insane and not quite as bad as he thought she was. But she was being protective…

Someone was watching them—and somehow he wondered if it was the AF.

"No." He said slowly, heart thundering in his chest as he thought of the big break she was about to give him. If she gave him a name—a _genuine_ name—he could probably find out almost anything he wanted to about Slade. He could even use the League to help him if he stressed the importance of their aid.

"Are you sure I didn't say Slade—"

-S-

While he intercepted Beast Boy's call, he made the mistake of losing track of Robin and the insane woman. Only for a moment though.

How ironic.

They didn't move anywhere, but he stopped listening to their conversation, still up in the trees, setting the rest of the Titans out of the way. Naturally he wouldn't keep his promise. He was going to level Jump City one way or another and it didn't really matter what they tried to do to stop him.

That's when he heard her say "Please don't tell me I told you the one-eyed man's name as well…"

"…No…"

She was going to tell him.

Thinking fast, he leapt down from his perch and aimed the heel of his left foot directly for her head.

"Are you sure I didn't say Slade—"

Well…he didn't hit her in the head, but the shoulder did the job anyway and she fell to the ground beneath him, crying out in pain from the force and the weight added into the neck. He almost expected Dane's men—the ones hiding here and there in the bushes—to come out and stop her from spilling too much of their information, but perhaps they left after his robots came along.

Speaking of which.

Standing off her to face Robin, he left no time for the boy to talk and simply pushed a button located on his writs. At once his robots followed their previous orders and came out to attack. In one mighty crowd, they leapt in unison and came at the Boy Wonder like the players in a football game, hell-bent on crushing him to death.

Robin, ready as ever, twirled out his bo-staff and attacked with his never-dying determination. And as he did this, Slade reached down and grabbed the young lady by a handful of her tiny braided hair and dragged her after him into the thick forest of trees.

He would deal with her here and now…

-M-

The pain of being landed on, mixed with a loss of blood and the decline in adrenaline, nearly hurtled her into an unconscious state. She was aware of her attacker standing off of her—not being able to see at the moment—and was again aware that she was indeed still conscious when something tugged at her hair and began to drag her off…the first thought that came to mind was Dane or one of his men, but not many of them dared to touch her like that (although she had been pretty beaten in the past in false attempts of escaping or attacking them in turn), but the Halloween made more sense to her. After all, it was his identity she was about to betray and she never very well that he was in the trees watching them. That made her wonder why Dane's mean didn't attack unless, of course, something scared them away…

"You must have a death wish." The assailant hissed in her ear, pulling her to her feet by her hair. Indeed it was the Halloween man.

"'tis the truth." She answered sincerely, and it really was. So long as she didn't die through suicide, she was happy. "But I'm sure I'm not the only one you'd like to kill tonight…"

"Indeed." He muttered and shook her once. Her head hurt but she kept quiet, praying that he wouldn't take off her mask. It might have been foolish for others to think that it brought her strength, but somehow a mask brought her security. She didn't want him looking into her soul anyway…(**1**)

"How much do you know?" He barked and threw her to her knees. She sat back on her feet and paused, only waiting long enough for her vision to return before answering.

"_Everything_." She admitted quietly. In the distance she could hear the little boy taking his anger out at the many tin men surrounding him. "I know all about you and _him_, why you only fight him but never kill him."

"Then tell me _how_ you know." He ordered—and she smiled inwardly. It was the determined that she served, the internally strong that she acknowledged, as those that could strike fear into the heart of their enemies that she respected—and he was frightening.

"When a man lives his life solely to find and solve the lives of others, nothing can be kept from him…and _he_ has the habit of saying what he knows."

She knew he could tell she was talking about Dane. Dane would never rest until the world was free of 'freaks' and since that wasn't going to happen any time soon…

"I made sure to get rid of anyone who knew my name, knew how I became a metahuman—_how_ then, did Dane find out?"

This time she allowed herself to smile behind her mask. "The mouth has a mind of its own. You killed those who knew directly, but what of those who they told aside?"

Family, friends, superiors, companions—secrets beg to be told. Someone could have secretly made a copy of the information concerning—Mary didn't quite know. All she was sure of was that Dane sought every possible outlet of information the moment he was assigned to take down Slade. That was why she listened to Dane when he ordered her to help him with a job. He was strong and determined. He'd rather die than give up.

Slade was contemplating what she told him, stroking his chin as he thought it over. She sat there quietly and waited for him to ask more questions or simply put her out of her misery. Either way, she'd be happy.

"And what about you?" He finally asked, staring down at her once more. "You're not an agent. You're not _sane_ enough."

"Who is? But you're right. He knows me and my doctor, and he won my respect. I have a way with words and he needs to deceive—he'll always have a use for me."

"Do you fear _death_?" She could tell by the way he said the word that he himself was smiling behind his Halloween mask, maniacal like his true nature. "Do you fear _pain_?..."

"Death is a foolish thing to fear." Mary answered softly, frightened somewhat more now—but differently than before. It was a past fear that boiled up to the surface and now broke free to the once clean air. "I'll die someday however way I was meant. But there are many things I fear—an endless list it seems…_Pain_ is another foolish thing…to fear…"

At the thought of it she could remember a little girl, older than her when she herself was young, with black hair longer than her own and pathetic green eyes that were blinded by tears. The little girl screamed as she was dragged away from Mary, never to be seen _the same _again.

Marionette's stomach began to hurt. (**2**)

"You're a decoy and a puppet." He stated. "And why do you let yourself be used? Is that your purpose too."

"I live to serve." She answered meekly—but without lying. Like always, she couldn't stand to lie. "I fear being useless…I dread the day when I'm no longer needed."

It was her soul purpose to fulfill the plans of others whichever way she could. And whether their motives were good or bad, Mary could have cared less. She lived to serve…never the other way around. As she was forced to promise, she could never be the leader of anyone besides herself, and could she only ever be alone if her orders conflicted with those of another person.

Which reminded her…she was told to steer the boy away from the Halloween man—_tonight_. Whatever happened tomorrow or thereafter was entirely up to what she was told to do next.

He was contemplating something again. Mary could tell by his hesitation. Perhaps now she could finish her job for the night.

"You want to kidnap him, mold him to a better form?" She implied, catching his attention. He would use whatever deal she made to his advantage, but that's what she was planning in any case. Dane was snapping. This fearful mercenary wasn't. "And I take it you've tried it before…I take it you talked to him too…"

"And?"

Just 'And'. Yes…he was going to make sure he was in control.

"He hates you too much." She stated simply. "That's why he doesn't listen."

"And I wouldn't have thought of that already _because_?..."

Moody…wasn't he?

"I have a way with words."

Now he saw her idea.

"Perhaps there is a use for you…" He answered, still boring down at her with that solitary gray eye. Again, she was grateful for her own mask. "But what about your orders from Dane."

"He gave me the order to keep him safe from you _tonight_, but if you give me orders that start no sooner than dawn tomorrow morning, than anything he orders in conflict would be null."

She had her own laws and regulations. Mary adopted them from her both her idols and her tormentors (**3**).

"And why should I believe you?"

"If you don't, then you can kill me. Do you honestly believe I stand a chance against you?"

The answer to that, boys and girls, was no.

In the distance she could hear the battle coming to an end. Even farther off she could hear another Titan calling out the name of their leader as they neared. Slade could either act now or take her up on her offer.

"If you help me capture him and make him believe he would be better off by my side, than I would allow for you to live. I would even go so far as to free you from Dane and his men—but _fail_ or true to double-cross me _once_, and you will regret ever being born."

With a nod she stood. "I trust you know where to find me tomorrow. From now on, your orders rule over Dane's."

"Good." He was smiling behind his mask again, backing up into the shadows. "And if you see, Dane, tell him his _friend_ is in good hands…"

"No doubt…" She whispered, taking off in the opposite direction. "I suppose you'll return him back in better condition than what he was taken in…" (**4**)

-V-

(**1**) _"She didn't want him looking into her soul anyway…"_ –this is pretty self-explanatory. 'Your eyes are the windows to your soul'…that kind of thing…

(**2**) _"Marionette's stomach began to hurt…"_ –I can't tell you about this yet until you read further into the story, but if you know her nature (which I've already told you a little about) then you should know a little bit about what this means. The other little girl (which I will tell you now anyway) is…_was_ her older sister.

(**3**) _"Mary adopted them from her both her idols and her tormentors…"_ –I'll let you know ahead of time that Mary wasn't always insane. Her idols are just philosophers and other great minds she agreed with, and her tormentors are the people who made her insane. I'm telling you all this because, as I've said before, Marionette isn't too important in the story, so you don't have to worry if you don't understand a thing about her. Just know that she was tortured at one point, went insane, and works for the AF when they call her up at the asylum.

(**4**) _"I suppose you'll return him back in better condition than what he was taken in…" _–It's a little bit of foreshadowing here, because obviously Slade isn't going to tie Mark up and leave him in the corner for the entire story. He's really peeved off at the AF, so he's going to give them an early Christmas present. Don't worry, he'll stay in one piece, but what'll happen to him is going to make Dane's job a tad bit harder and the Titans a tad bit easier…not easy enough that they'll win right away…Oh, just read the next chapter…

That was fun…and I just realized I write longer chapters than Alex…waaaaaay longer chapters. Oh—and after the next chapter I will officially change the title which is displayed on the site to "Puppets". This way you don't have to worry about searching for it. This way you get more time…

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring_


	6. Chapter 6

Puppets

Victor Van Heiring

**IMPORTANT: **You might be thinking that you're seeing way too little of Robin for this to be a real Robin vs. Slade story, but trust me. I'm setting up most of the clues in the beginning because, guess what…_he's got to figure them out on his own later_. More fun! Yay!

DISCLAIMER: Um…do I own _them_ or anything _like_ them? There's the joke of the day…

CHAPTER SIX: Master plans

To wake up after blacking out was a painful event. Especially when you couldn't remember what knocked you out and what happened to you while you were out-cold. To make matters even worse, you wake to a place that was in no way familiar, staring at a bar pattern on the floor made in the blank darkness by a semi-bright light. His first conclusion was that he was in prison, but how does that work out? No…who would throw a prisoner onto the floor, broken arm and all, and then just leave them in a freaky old broken down place…

It took him a while to recognize the place as the old mall that was half torn down a couple of years back. It was located on the far east side of the city and a section of the basement was used as a temporary holding pin for anybody who caused a ruckus in the mall before being transported to the nearest police station. The second thing he realized as he regained full consciousness was the fact that his broken right arm was roughly bandaged up into a make-shift cast. His other arm was bare, the sleeve of his sweater suddenly appearing to have been torn off, save for a few small needle points located on the inside of his elbow.

What was Slade doing to him?

Whatever it was, it was giving him a headache. That could have been from a sedative used to keep him out-cold while he was taken, but he felt feverish, cold and sore in every muscle of his body. Was Slade going to poison him to death? But that didn't make any sense—he could have just broken Mark's neck if he wanted him out of the way. No…he was planning a small piece of revenge for Dane.

Boy…Dane really knew how to tick a person off.

Forcing himself to stand, the young agent made his way over to the bars of his cell and peered up and down the hall in search of someone—or thing. The light came from the left side of the hall, around a nearby corner. Mark he was being monitored because there was the sound of a chair scrapping against the floor and a dark shadow fell across the far wall before shrinking as the person drew near. And that person, much to his displeasure, was Slade.

"Comfortable?"

Mark scowled at the comment and stayed at least an arm's length away from the bars as Slade stopped short of them. "Fine, thank you."

"I suppose you don't remember much?"

"I still remember everything about you."

Slade hummed in thought. "So it would seem. If that were true, why did you fall for a decoy?"

Mark shrugged as best he could, still frowning. "I guessed you had one of two plans for destroying the city. One was just some sort of gigantic bomb."

"And what was the other guess?"

"That you found the fault lines beneath the city…"

Slade gave a small laugh and took a step away from the bars, placing both hands behind his back. He was amused. "It's good to see Dane has someone with brains on his team. And for your information, that was the plan. Now…do you know why you're alive?"

"My best guess is revenge against Dane, which really makes me wonder why you're giving me any information at all, false or not."

"Oh, I want you to know the truth. That's what makes my side-project all the more entertaining." Slade's eye narrowed dangerously. "Your going to be my revenge, a warning to Dane for what will happen to him if he slips up again, and a test subject for something I've been working on…"

Mark had to arch his eyebrow curiously. "So, what? You're going to turn me into a living mass of glop?"

"Didn't anyone ever tell it's what's on the inside that counts? And no—no glop. But I can't guarantee you'll be pleased with the outcome in any case."

…He hated the man before, and now he hated him even more. He was an obsessed maniac with unbelievable luck and a knack for inventing weapons that could possibly blow the world to smithereens. There wasn't much to like about him.

"So…it's internal and I won't like it. That narrows it down to…_a lot_. Are you going to give me more clues or will you just tell me what's about to happen?"

"Oh…you'll know _exactly_ what's going to happen to you, but that'll have to wait until the rest of the operations have been completed. You're no where near finished." Then his adversary turned on his heel and made his way back down the short hall. "Sleep well. You'll need all the rest you can get."

..Somehow, he wasn't looking forward to the whole 'operation' part…

-R-

There were many things that bothered him but nothing could irritate him more than going off to battle someone only to lose track of them in the end. And what's more!—he was _this_ close to finding out Slade's last name…_so_ close….even an initial would have made his search a heck of a lot easier, but now he had to wait until he saw Mary again.

And when would that be? Today? Tomorrow? Next week? Not to mention _Slade_ and whatever nasty plan he had brewing up deep down in the darkest depths of the hell (**1**). It was like having a random time bomb in your pocket—you had to get rid of it, but you had no idea when it would blow and where you could put it to keep others safe. It was getting to the point where Robin would sometimes run his hand through his hair, stop at the back of his head and nearly pull out a huge chunk of it out while he checked—and rechecked, and re-rechecked—every clue set out by Slade since the beginning of time. There were days when he nearly gave up and just went off to literally check almost every square-inch of Jump City.

At this rate, he might be looking at early retirement…but how would that work out? Fighting crime _was_ his life, and unless he was planning on dying any time soon, there really was no other type of simple _retirement_ available to him.

"Want some ithe?"

Robin shook his head, lifting up the bag he already had before replacing it on his left hand. "Thanks, but I've already got some."

Usually he tried to hide his wounds as best he could, from friend and foe alike, but the state of his hand was a little…_difficult_ to pass aside unnoticed. Falling awkwardly during his fight with Slade's robots, the last three fingers of his left hand were bent backward at an odd angle. Shocked and panicking, he grabbed them and bent them back into place just as his comrades showed up in the park and witnessed the act before lending a hand. The moment they got home, Cyborg told him to sit at the couch and Raven tossed him a bag of ice. Starfire went off to nurse her own wounds and Beast Boy plopped on down next to Robin with a bag of his own, this one held close over the bridge of his nose.

"Again?" Robin grinned, remembering the short while ago when Beast Boy had the imprint of Slade's boot on his face. This time it was probably one of the robots, but it had to hurt just as much.

"Ith bleeding prethy bad." He sniffled, tilting back his head to slow the blood flow. "Whereth Raven?"

"Her room, I think."

"Thanxth…"

With that, he scurried away to find the healer.

"Slade called again." This time it was Cyborg, entering the main room after tuning himself up in his little workshop room. Twisting on his left hand properly, he stopped by the couch and leaned over to stare at Robin's. "He's up to something, man, and it isn't just the bomb he boasted about hiding in the city."

"How'd you know?"

"Duh!" Cyborg grinned and jumped over the back of the couch to sit next to him in BB's spot. "He said to leave you alone tonight—which makes no sense, really…"

For once, he was interested in hearing someone else's thoughts on the matter of his great archenemy. Why not? Maybe having another brain obsessing over him would lead to more work done…And besides, no one told him yet that Slade talked to his team again while he was gone.

"What makes no sense?"

"He wanted us to leave you alone tonight which usually means he wants to face off with you…but he didn't actually meet up with you, did he? You were busy with that psycho girl, right?"

…Actually, that thought _had_ occurred to him earlier when the little woman called them up and brushed Slade aside without worry. Robin knew Slade was a patient man—he boasted about the matter on a regular basis—but even _Slade_ wouldn't let someone else take the spotlight away from him. Robin expected to see him lurking in the shadows or tossing explosives devices down upon him while he fought Marionette—but maybe he was lurking somewhere. Maybe Robin was too busy listening to the debate situated against him by the girl to really notice anything else that going on around him…

Good grief, he was getting old! Maybe retirement was the answer…

"You look worried. Oh—wait—" Cyborg rolled his eyes and grinned. "Since when _haven't_ you been worried? BB said you've got newspaper clippings everywhere…said you reminded him of the guy off _A Beautiful Mind_ the last time he went into your room."

Okay. He was obsessive at times—but not _that_ obsessive. He didn't have a disorder…

"I'm fine." He reassured his friend. "And yeah, I am a little worried. But you said _Slade said_ he had a bomb hidden in the city?"

"Well hidden by the sounds of it."

"_In _the city…?"

"Yeah."

"Did he say that exactly? Did he say it purposefully?"

"Can't remember…" Cyborg paused, then he hit Robin on the knee. "Give me a break, man. It's not like I'm taking **Slade 101** at university. He just said he had a bomb that we'd have one hell of a time finding."

Robin grinned. "Then it isn't in the city."

Cyborg gave him a look of pure disbelief. Then, after seeing the sureness in Robin's smile, he looked a little amazed. "You're serious? You can tell that just by something he said? So…there is no bomb?"

"I didn't say that." He corrected. "I said it wasn't _in_ the city. Slade likes to play games with the human mind. He could have it _around_ the city, _above_ the city, _below_ the city…"

Cyborg shook his head again, still a little incredulous. "…I can't believe this? How'd he have it around the city?"

"Multiple charges placed around the city limits. He could keep everyone contained, get them panicking and then—BAM! We'd have a frightened mob on our hands."

"Okay…above the city?"

Robin laughed. "Jeez…reminds me of the old villains in Gotham. If it was one of them, they'd probably strap a couple of bombs to a bunch of hot-air balloons…"

"Man…you _run_ **Slade 101** the university…Below."

"Below…" Robin licked his lips. There were a couple of possibilities to that. "Below…_below_...What about those fault lines that run under the city? If he—"

"No no no! I'm not listening!" Cyborg plugged his ears, regretting that he ever said anything at all. Now Robin would go on forever, planning a counter attack against any possibility, and then both Cy and raven would have to go back on their night watch to make sure to stop Robin from staying up too late on the mai computer, searching for answers… "La la la la la! I'm not listening!"

Robin laughed. "No, but listen, if he—"

Cyborg took his only chance of escape and leapt to his feet, running from the room to find safety elsewhere in the tower. Robin, left alone to die of laughter, simply stayed where he was and sat back, relaxed. Now that he had something to keep his mind busy with, he felt quite a bit more at ease. It was interesting how he taught his mind to work.

-S-

"_I didn't say that. I said it wasn't **in** the city. Slade likes to play games with the human mind. He could have it **around** the city, **above** the city, **below** the city…"_

He actually started listen to the conversation the moment the changeling left the room, but his ears didn't quite perk up until Robin ran his theories over with his other friend. He was both somewhat worried that his plan would fall apart if the Titans acted before the second part of his plan could fall into place, and quite pleased that the boy picked out the clues—despite not being there when Slade dished them out. The AF knew, of course, but they knew about Slade's plan for a while. This was what—a couple of hours?

"_Below…"_

"_Below…(pause)…Below…below…What about those fault lines that run under the city? If he—"_

"_No no no! I'm not listening! La la la la la! I'm not listening!"_

"_No, but listen, if he—"_

Well done…well done indeed. Even Slade had to applaud him this time. He hit the nail on the head with that idea.

There was a bit of laughter on the line before everything fell silent on the Titans' side of the bug. They had no idea it was placed inside the Tower and Slade highly doubted they would ever find out about it…any time soon.

But still, he was growing more impressed with Robin every time they crossed paths. Ever since he first became his apprentice, Slade never really did give up on the idea that he could once again sway the boy back to his side. Of course, it would take some brute strength, a few mind games and a little manipulation to assure his loyalty, but loyalty became genuine with time. Slade could wait. He had all the time in the world.

Focusing back at the task at hand, he lifted the bloody knife and a clean white cloth. Wiping off the blade, he stared down at the progress of his handiwork and signaled to two of his robots to carry the unconscious man away. This 'Mark' truly was the perfect specimen. He was in peak condition and didn't struggle the least bit with the aid of quite a few sedatives. Knocking him out in the first place was really the only hard part about the job, but everything thereafter was a breeze.

Once they carried him away, Slade turned around and stepped up to one of the small computer consoles he set up in the somewhat small basement office of the abandoned mall. Switching connections, he checked in on Dane's schedule.

…There wasn't much to speak off in the way of plans. Slade screwed that up thoroughly for Dane when he kidnapped his young friend and sent him a fair warning to _back off _ before Slade got his hands on Dane himself. The man had been after him for quite a while…It seemed everywhere he went, Dane somehow found out about his plans.

Scrolling further down the list of names which came up—what was left of Dane's team—he stopped at Marionette and checked out _her_ schedule for the week. If she was supposed to be kept locked up, Slade would much rather keep her locked up were he could reach her instead of within some distant insane asylum. Luckily, she was signed into the city's own asylum for the time being before returning to New Jersey.

_**J**acob, **M**ary:_

Wednesday, 14, 21-22-Co3g2—Kteen.

It was a new code the government tried to use on the computers to conceal information from hackers. 21-22 stood for 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Co3 stood for 'medical operation'; g2 stood for 'ground level, room 2'; and Kteen meant…electrotherapy. They usually only used that on patients who were greatly depressed, but after meeting "Marionette", Slade couldn't really blame her. If they were going to electrocute the living-daylights out of her, then so-be-it. He could wait until ten o'clock to drop by and say hi…

All in all, everything was working out accordingly. Soon the other elements of his plan would fall into action and he'd be free of Jump City forever, with no worries to speak of whatsoever.

With that thought to think of, he switched off the consol and switched to another form of work. If everything _did_ work out as he had planned, then he had to stay on schedule.

-V-

(**1**) "…_he had brewing up deep down in the darkest depths of the hell…"_ –this is just a bit of foreshadowment with the idea that Slade is going to somehow sabotage the fault lines beneath the city. Robin doesn't know how smart he is…

See you around. I hope you liked the chapter—**_and remember_**! I'm changing the title next chapter so don't be surprised if it says** Puppets** _instead of_ **Hurt to Save**.

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring_


	7. Chapter 7

Puppets

Victor Van Heiring

**Important:** Believe it or not, but there's a reason for Marionette's presence in this story. You see, there're three voices—the voice of justice, chastity and order (_Robin_); the voice of greed, power and chaos (_Slade_); and the voice of reason, reality and orderly chaos (_Mary_). The three of them are present for my basic argument underlying the plot—is the true survival behavior of any human being that of a stead-fast and entirely good hero? Should people follow more utilitarianism ideas (pleasure over pain—AKA: a man saves a surgeon in a plane crash instead of his son, because the surgeon can do more good in the world), or is it all a waste of time…should we just give up and let our wants and needs show before that of others? What should the true balance between good and evil be like…Marionette is just there to get Robin's thoughts out in the open, so hang tight…I'm probably going to kill her before the end of the story…but she makes for good fight scenes.

**WARNING**: there's a little gore here and there…that's why the rating is changed to **M**. I won't describe someone's guts hanging out through a cut in the stomach, but people do die in this story…no one important…

DISCLAIMER: You all know the drill.

CHAPTER SEVEN: Setting up

She was shivering, sitting on the edge of her bed, tucked into the corner where she could lean in safety. She watched the door carefully, long thing arms wrapped protectively around her knees to hug them close to her chest. She was wet, after having been cleaned up, and dressed with a loose short-sleeve shirt and a pair of white slacks tied tightly around her waist. The straight jacket was gone for now—she bit the last two men who tried to put it on and they knew better than to push their luck—and now the doctors were going over the results from her electrotherapy.

She could take the pain that came with being locked up and called insane—she could stand the difficulty of always listening to the orders of others—but she had to draw the line somewhere and that was when they started to electrocute her just because she was a little 'depressed'. In her mind, she had every right to be depressed. After all, she found out last night that it was _Mark_ who was kidnapped last night and Mark was one of the few people who respected her just as much as she respected him. How dare Dane stand in front of her and tell her this news without so much as a flinch or a tear…she cried…even the big girls cry…

Fiddling with her still wet hair, she grabbed a few of the strands still left free and quickly braided them, reaching over toward her small bedside table for another elastic. Every single last hair was finished with now, long and smooth, falling down to her waist. Growing up after her parents died, her newer _guardians_ told her that it was a sin to cut your hair. That's why it was so long…

One of the nurses stared in at her through the small grated window on the door to her room, shaking her head sadly. They would be back to try and place the straight jacket on again later, but they didn't worry as much. After testing Mary enough times and questioning her hard enough they concluded, with much certainty, that in Mary's chaotic mind she believed she was incapable of suicide. She was almost very much incapable of homicide as well except for one small detail that she tried to avoid most of the time, being a cannibal and all—you couldn't kill something you weren't going to eat…or at least eat _part of_.

"Mary?" The door cracked open an inch as the doctor called to her, opening it further as he and two other burly men slid into the room. "How're you feeling?"

She tucked her knees close to her chest again and hid her lower face behind them. "I…don't understand."

"_Feeling_." The doctor tried to explain as he stopped and stared at the long perfect braids she created. She was quick with her hands. "Do you feel any pain? Are you tried?"

She hummed thoughtfully to herself. "Maybe it is you who fails understand…I don't understand your reaction to my grief. I missed Mark…and you punished me for it. Should have I been happy? Should I have smiled like Dane did?"

"Mr. Jarak wasn't smiling."

"Not on the outside, he wasn't…"

Some days they never understood her logic. And tonight the majority of them were too tired to argue professionally with her. She was a little…stranger than the usual patients, but she would only stay in Jump City for another day or two before they returned her to New Jersey.

"It's time for bed, Miss Jacob." The doctor sighed, nodding to one of his assistants. The man stepped forward with a syringe filled with a clear pink fluid. "What do you say to that?"

She hissed at them, eyes narrow and dark as they advanced ever so carefully. "Let's hear what the _devil_ has to say about it…"

Startled, she didn't actually expect anyone to react to that statement.

The wall next to her bed broke away, large chunks of the wood and metal hitting her and the other men in the room. Dust clouded the air and they all coughed and sputtered as it began to settle, Mary being the first to notice the robot commandoes which piled in through the large opening to attack the doctor. He didn't even see them as one brought back its hand, fingers shaved into claws, and then—

She closed her eyes and buried the rest of her face in her knees, her body racked with laughter. Mary could hear them yelling and screaming, heard the nurse take off in a panicked sprint down the hall as someone called security to her room.

She raised her head after the two other men in her room lay either dead or unconscious on the floor by her bed. Then she stood up and straightened her posture.

One of the five robots turned to her, gesturing to the opening in the wall. The clear evening air welcomed her, the dark starry night so inviting, but she shook her hand kindly and moved past them toward the door.

"I'll come as your master bids, have no worries about that, but I won't fight a child without my mask." She knew where they kept her suit. It was locked in a room just down the hall. "Give me a moment and I will do whatever your master asks of me…"

The robots had their orders. Moving to finish the task quickly, they marched from the room and jumped the small opposition of security guards which met her in the hall…

-R-

Flexing his left hand, he listened to the sore digits crack before balling his fingers into a tight fist. It hurt but it wouldn't handicap him in battle unless he crushed it again. The chances of that were slim anyway.

He avoided using the hand much during practice that day, making sure to flex it again every once in a while so it wouldn't lock up, and he avoided showing that it hurt least Raven or Cyborg suddenly decided to cast it. That was the last thing he needed…

The day went by somewhat peacefully. Now that he had an idea of what Slade could be up to, he didn't feel as '_left-in-the-dark_' as he had been for the last couple of weeks. And the day was crime free as well. He almost expected, when night fell, that he had gone for at least twenty-four hours without facing off an enemy—quite a new record for the ever-busy Teen Titans.

Then the red lights flashed.

Automatically, the main consol came to life and the large screen switched on to show one large blinking red light hovering over the east side of the city. It was near the tower, situated over the city's main asylum.

"A crazy broke out?" Beast Boy asked, voice squeaking at the high pitch. "Dude…the crazies rarely ever break out!"

Robin shook his head. "Not unless someone _else_ is doing the breaking..."

"…Come on, we don't even have any big names like Jonathon Crane or E. Nigma. Who could they possibly want?"

"Mary Jacob." Raven read aloud, staring at the new information which popped up on the screen. "Ex-cult leader and a terrible trauma patient."

Mary…The name rang a bell and Robin found himself biting his lower lip in thought….Mary…

"Oh!" He breathed out loud, the others hearing him. "Mary. I get it."

BB made a face.

Robin pointed to the screen. "Look—see the braids? It's Marionette, from the fight yesterday night. I guess either the AF or the police caught her."

"Yeah…the AF." Cyborg muttered. "What have they been up to lately anyhow? It's not too often that a government-run organization pops in and out of existence without us knowing about them…"

"Doesn't matter." Raven sighed, turning and heading for the hall. "We have to catch her."

She was right…but Marionette wasn't the only one they were up against.

-break-

Arriving at the asylum in record time, they were met with a grim sight. BB was the first to notice a hole blown in through one of the walls into a patient's room, and the police were still picking up bodies for the morgue. There were scarps of metal and broken pieces from Slade's robots laid out here and there around the asylum, but the girl, Mary Jacob, was out of sight—her _and_ the crazy suit she wore the night before.

Three people dead, five other men and woman injured. No one else got out and the only thing that Mary took with her was her suit and a short list of odd weapons which belonged to her with the permission of the AF.

Speaking of which, the _AF_ was there too…

"Whose he?" Robin asked, nodding at the young man arguing over one of the casualties. Short brown hair with a mean look to his eyes like he just had a night from hell…He _had_ to work for the _AF_.

"Dane Jarak." The office explained, standing by his patroller with a pen and pad in hand. Scribbling down a few things, he only had to glance up once to recognize the young teen leader. "He's one of the 'higher ranking' members of the AF and was assigned to take down Slade."

Robin paused. "How do you know?"

"The Police Chief made sure everyone in the force knew." The man continued. "The government said your team wasn't allowed to know anything unless the AF failed to keep Slade's plan a secret. Now that that's out in the open…"

Beast Boy smiled. "Does AF really stand for Anti-freak?"

The cop nearly laughed. "That's just what the news decided to call them. They're really—"

"Why are _you_ here?"

Cyborg and Raven where inside the building, examining the damage, while Starfire stayed back at the tower in case anything else came up. It was only Beast Boy and robin that received the honour to meet Dane face-to-face and neither of them really wished they had…

The man was indeed young, but not so young that he was a fool. He stared at Beast Boy a little odd—well…he was _green_—but only half-glared at Robin when the two faced each other.

The cop, sensing danger, moved elsewhere, as did Beast Boy who felt quite uncomfortable under his piercing stare.

"We have this under control." The man said blankly. "You can leave."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "Can—but _won't_. If anything happens to this city, it's our duty to stop it."

The man rolled his eyes, sneering. "Like you have any idea what you're doing. Do you even know what Slade is up to?"

"I know as much as you know."

"Is that a fact?" Dane's eyes scanned Robin, making him doubt even himself. Maybe there was something he was missing… "I doubt it. If you were smart you'd give up the hero gig and use your talent as a cop or some other profession concerning the law."

Obviously standing around yelling at each other wasn't going to do either one of them any good. So, shaking his head, Robin stormed off past the man to find BB and gather the others. The escapee could be anywhere at the moment and every second _taken_ was another second _wasted_. She could be with anyone…

For some odd reason, getting the dreadful sense in the pit of his stomach, he wondered if the psychopathic woman was anywhere near Slade at that current moment…The thought came out of the blue, but it was rare for him to be wrong when such dire times were at hand. Maybe it was a technique he picked up from his first mentor…

-M-

Freedom was a silly thing to focus on, seeing that even now she had little of that, but she enjoyed it anyway. How often does one escape an asylum? She certainly never tried it on her own before. There was always Dane or Mark or Frank to keep her in check, but this time, with some _mechanical _help, she was out of there in a flash.

They led her to an old mall on the far side of the city. Ruined with a broken wire fence surrounding it and graffiti here and there over the painted scraped walls, it almost felt inviting to someone who sought refuge. Mary found it quite believable that a man such as Slade could hide well in a place like this and keep it 'creep-free' of the homeless people and punks who might have (with great misfortune) wandered there. It was hard for her to imagine Dane's men or the Titans scanning every inch of each run down building. They were more likely to check the docks where supplies could be easily found or more secluded sites just outside the city limits.

Her three remaining escorts dispersed once she entered the shattered glass doors to the front lower half of the building, one signaling to her to follow after. She did. They traveled to what she believed to be the center of the building and stopped near one of the plainer walls. Painted to blend in was a small door with a large key pad built above the broken doorknob. It, however, wasn't locked. The robotic man pushed it opened and led her down a dark set of stairs.

It was the emergency security rooms.

At the end of the stairs was a hall, the far end of which was illuminated dimly by a yellow light around the corner. Lining the left side of the hall were temporary holding cells and on the right a few doors to separate offices. One of the cells, she noticed as she passed, held a small pool of blood, splatters of such here and there as though someone—the injured—tried to stand and lean against the wall or bars for support.

Mark came to mind…

Mary rounded the corner and stopped where she stood to take the semi-large room into focus. It was filled with set up machinery and there, in the center of the room, was a make-shift operation table. Strapped down and undoubtedly unconscious, lay Mark, and there, across his chest, neck and temples were healing incisions.

"You…you…" For once in her life, she was lost for words. Mark was one of her constant captors, true, but Mark was also something of a friend and a reliable ally when it came to their _job_. He respected her and she had respect for her. Why, then, was she serving the man who was…well…she actually had no idea what Slade was doing to her friend.

Pulling off her white mask, she squinted at the shadows.

"I can hear you breathing…" She whispered meekly, trying to pinpoint Slade in the dark. "Tell me why you hurt him."

The man didn't answer. Instead, he stepped out into plain sight and folded his hands neatly behind his back.

"You're not the one giving orders here." He stated plainly. "But to give you an answer for the sake of a level head…I'm doing more good than bad for your…_friend_."

"Then may I ask, how so?" She wanted answers…but she knew who was master here.

He stepped up to the young man, tilting the patient's head to one side to show his right temple. There were stitches where the mastermind sewed him up… "I've been enhancing him. Whether he takes this as a new opportunity or as a condemnation depends on his view on the people he hunts and what _Dane_ thinks of him when they meet again."

"Hm…" She hummed, stepping closer and placing her hand on the side of Mark's pale face. "Might I also ask how much longer he is to remain in your…_care_?"

"He leaves tomorrow night…the same night you will confront Robin." The man turned away, strolling toward his machinery. "I have plans on how to lead him here alone, and that leaves you with the entire mall as a fighting ring."

"And of Dane?"

She heard a faint laugh. "I plan on him coming. After all…he has to pick up his friend…"

-V-

YAY! Another chapter done! I wish Robin was as consistent as this…Oh well, maybe he'll work more on his stories now that next week and the week after are devoted to Christmas vacation….two weeks, I love that. Oh—Merry Christmas! (NOT Happy Holidays…). And a Happy New Year!

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring_


	8. Chapter 8

Puppets

Victor Van Heiring

Darn…sorry about this but I realized a little too late that I called **Alexnandru Van Gordon** by his real name in my A/N at the end of the last chapter. Yeah…his name is Robin…but don't go spreading that around because now he has **Slade Wilson – Deathstroke** coming after him like I-don't-know-what every hour he finds convenient…It's really funny sometimes but so long as he doesn't know about it, he won't be angry with me (besides the point that I'm too lazy to go back and fix the mistake…who cares?)

Carry on, peoples…

DISCLAIMER: Same old, same old—you'll here the song you heard from me last chapter….so, _shoo, birds!_

CHAPTER EIGHT: Evil, nothing less

"You look…bored."

He wasn't bored. There was nothing worse than getting caught off guard without knowing what the hell he was supposed to be doing. Not too long ago he found out Slade was going to obliterate the city, wasn't he? Of course he was—and there was Robin, stuck in the dark until the very last minute with next to no time left to devise a counterattack. Sure, he probably had an idea of where Slade could be hiding his weapon, but it was no use knowing where something was if you couldn't do a thing to stop it. He had no clue what type of bomb it was, how many there were (if there _were_ more than one), how to disarm it, and how to keep Slade busy long enough not to set it off.

Robin was taking blind stabs in the dark. It wasn't that he hated the dark, but when you had a city full of innocent people on the line…well, you get the drift. He felt like such a failure.

Raven leaned against the back of the couch and caught the small bean bag he was tossing before it headed back down toward him. Lying on his back, he continued to stare at the ceiling.

"I'm just thinking."

She examined the ball. "No, you're fusing. You usually lose yourself in physical activities when you're bored." Handing the ball back to him, she turned away. "You're worried because that girl got out of the asylum yesterday with the help of Slade. You're upset because the AF knows more than you do. You're frustrated because you think you're the only one here to save the city."

His face reddened at her words. Not in embarrassment or anger, but from self-disappointment. She was right. He was acting like such a child.

"Raven—"

"Relax." She gazed at him over her shoulder and allowed herself to grin for the briefest moment. "You're anything but alone in this. Whatever Slade is up to, we'll stop him together."

It was nice to hear someone else say that every once in a while. Sure, Starfire said it on a regular basis, but it felt more assuring when someone different took the job upon themselves to go out of character just to say it for his sake.

"Maybe you should get out, go on a short patrol for any of the small stuff."

Not a bad idea. Perhaps he could let little of his pent up anger out on the poor unfortunate who sought to commit a crime tonight.

Raven, seeming to read his thoughts, chuckled herself and headed for the hallway. "Don't kill anyone. Remember, the AF might be watching."

-D-

It was a trap. It had to be. There was no possible way Slade would have let anything like this slip through his fingers. If he was indeed the one who ordered Mary's little search and rescue mission, then why would be so careless as to let her roam around freely?

"Someone called the police and said they saw her fighting three men on 131st and 47th. Then she fled toward the abandoned mall."

Dane began rubbing his right temple. Of course the police wouldn't actually go after her. They read her records and concluded that the AF should be the only ones to risk their necks on catching her. The only thing anyone knew was that she headed toward the mall when she saw that she was spotted. They were scanning around the area for clues as to where she might be, but Dane and a few of his men were assigned to checking out the old building. Knowing Miss Jacob and her record for analyzing and testing the human mind, she'd have a few tricks up her sleeve for whoever found her. She had a fetish for such things…

Eyeing Michael, another close friend of his, Dane reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out his gun. "Go home and get some rest, Mike. I'll grab a couple of men and check out the mall on my own."

"But—"

"If you're bored, then you can finish filing the papers on Mark."

Shutting his mouth in an instant, Mike got the idea. Sighing to himself quietly, Mike turned on his heel and headed out.

This time, he was going to shoot Slade.

If Mark was dead or missing a single limb, he didn't know how well he could restrain himself from shooting Slade's other eye. He knew it was near enough to impossible to kill the man, but blinding Slade might satisfy him long enough to think clearly again.

-R-

"_131st and 47th. We got a call saying some kid was beaten by a thug and then dragged into the mall."_

Poor kid…

Tearing down the streets at break neck speed on the back of his motorcycle, Robin made his way down to the abandoned mall on 47th avenue. The place should have been demolished long ago, but that side of town wasn't…'well-kept'. Nobody cared what happened there so long as the thugs and the petty thieves quarreled only among themselves, and besides—none of them really reported any trouble to the police or the Titans. It was rare for anyone to get called down then, especially in the middle of the night.

It reminded him of the Narrows…and a lot of other things for that matter.

"I'm already there." He answered into his communicator.

"_Have fun." _ Cyborg chuckled on the other end. _"Don't kill anyone, man."_

"It's a single thug." Robin muttered, jumping off his bike as he pulled it to a halt near the front entrance. "Why would I kill him? I'd rather see him behind bars."

"_Hey, we don't know why he dragged the boy off."_

Bad thoughts came to mind. "Ummm…I promise not to kill anyone. Now get back to work. I'm sure something else is going to come up tonight."

"_Psychic now, are you?"_

"No, but villains seem to follow a routine. The goofy ones attack at day, practically screaming for attention, and the ones we need to worry about seem addicted to the night life."

"_Gotcha. Cyborg, over-and-out." _Then the line was cut, leaving Robin with the minor stress-relieving session between him and the unlucky thug.

The mall—clichéd as ever—was dark, gloomy and quiet. The sun lights above, built into the visible ceiling hanging over the second level, were broken or cracked. Puddles of water from rain long since past gathered here and there on the old white tiled floor, and the walls, somehow still standing, were covered from top to bottom with crude pictures and colourful graffiti. Both of the elevators were still in tact but he doubted either was working. He was surprised neither was torn down by the jerks who usually camped out there at night.

Much to his surprise, one of the elevators started up. There was the jerking clank of old gears picking up speed before the rotating link of stairs lurched into motion upward to the second level. Startled, his hand slipped the bo-staff from his belt long before he realized what he was doing.

Reflex.

"Wrong one…" Someone muttered in disappoint from behind him. Spinning to face his opponent, he hesitated when he saw Mary standing next to a control panel, one hand on a lever and the fingers of her free hand tapping the chin of her porcelain mask. "Well then, lovely, I'm glad you came alone to play with me. Let me shine a little light on the name of the game."

Pulling the lever suddenly, he found himself blinded by the intensity of the still working emergency lights. Unable to even blink, he took a step back and covered his eyes with his left hand. Slade—or someone else—fiddled with the lights. There was no way they should have been that bright.

Then there was darkness—pitch black and as thick as tar. His heart skipped a beat before he was thrown backward, Mary's foot connecting dead center with his chest. By the feeling of stairs beneath his back and the sense of moving upward, he could tell he landed on the working elevator. He could hear Mary off to the left, walking up the second.

"Not afraid, are we?" She asked sincerely. He half expected her to taunt him—and although he knew she did make puns every then and again—but she was more serious than anything at all. It was as though she really wanted an honest answer from him. "Heart pounding, breath racing—body stiff and slightly shaking? Hopefully not from the kick…"

He cursed inwardly at her words. For reasons unknown, he was indeed somewhat nervous.

His intuition was attacking his gut again, twisting it until he felt like vomiting. It was telling him to leave, but not because of Mary. Something else was wrong.

"It's the dark then?" She insisted as he stood on his feet and almost fell when he came to the second floor. He wasn't blind anymore, but the dancing lights weren't making matters easier. "They say we fear what we cannot see—fear what we don't understand. Perhaps only half of that is true…but, then again, if you were to look close enough at your situation, one would say your life was riddled with irony."

"How so?" He asked. He knew she wouldn't stop herself from attacking just because he couldn't see, but perhaps if he kept her talking she'd be too busy _thinking_ to do much action.

"You're also very hypocritical...very power hungry"

"Care to explain?"

His vision finally cleared and he could see her walking away further into the mall before stopping and turning halfway to face him. "How can you label one thing good and another thing evil? Does it all have to do with what the majority wants? I thought this country believed in democracy—that the law is made by the people _for_ the people. If forty-nine percent believes that one thing is good, while the rest believe its evil—does that make it entirely evil, or…or _what_? How do you define something that's evil?"

For some reason '_pain_' was the first thing that came to mind. Those who are evil either thrive for the pain of others or strive for what they want _despite_ the pain it causes others.

"For one thing, they hurt without concern. They live for the pain of the others—they gain through the use of innocent people."

She shook her head slowly. "One man will not hurt another unless he himself has first been hurt. Pain comes in many ways—envy, abuse, disloyalty, lying—to list the causes is a dead man's job." Then she reached across her waist, grabbing hold of something before throwing the very same arm forward. Much to Robin's great surprise, a long black whip tore through the air toward him and latched onto his bo-staff when he raised it in defense. "But perhaps you need more time to think your answers over—yes?"

Memories of Catwoman and her merciless cat-o-nine-tails whip came to mind and the phantom pains that came from fighting her began to sting again. Hopefully Mary wasn't an expert.

Mary tugged but Robin only released on side of his bo-staff. The whip slid off and she pulled it back slowly into her hand as they began to circle. He knew how to handle such a weapon, but the cost of disarming her would leave him with black and blue bruises for days and weeks to come.

"You think it's unfair?" She tilted her masked face to one side. "Should I discard my whip?"

"It would be nice gesture." He thought allowed, being sarcastic. Much to his surprise, she did.

The way they were circling ended with her standing by the railing between the two elevators. Obliging to his suggestion, she released the end of her whip.

He watched as it began to fall—

—before nimble fingers clasped the end of the whip and pulled it back into a full arch as it surged forward, the lethal tip ricocheting off his bo-staff as he twirled it. He knew she would try something like that, but still…it would have been nice if she missed.

Circling her arm to recall the length, she aimed and took another shot.

He dodged aside and watched as the tip connected with the fairly old tiles. It cracked the glass and set shatters flying everywhere as she recoiled yet again and moved away from the elevators to get a better shot. As she threw her arm back for a third attack, one hand still on his staff, Robin reached to his belt and fit three small explosive between his fingers. This time she had to re-correct herself mid-way into the shot to snap away one of the explosives. The other two landed a meter away from each side of her, causing Mary to back step and raise an arm to protect her head from the shattered tiles. One cut her forearm, slashing away at the thick black fabric of her suit and drawing blood.

"First blood shot." She said, staring at her arms. She sounded proud. "Congratulations."

He shook his head. "I don't want to fight you."

"Likewise, lovely, but we're on opposing sides." Mary twirled her whip again, cracking it forward quickly and catching him on the left shoulder. It grazed him by cut deep enough to draw his own blood. "Until you agree…"

Robin twirled his bo-staff and stepped a little closer. "Agree to what?"

Mary didn't answer right away. Instead, she used her whip again and nearly caught him in the face before he deflected the blow. Usually he'd speed up the action, but a whip made matters a little more difficult…

So she tossed it aside.

Taking him by surprise, she reached behind her back and took hold of her blade. Moving just in time, she threw it forward and their weapons collided, causing both of them to put their full weight into forcing the other back. Transforming the hit-and-whip game into a pushing match, Mary was able to lean in close to his ear.

Whispering, she said something that chilled him to the bone. "Your old master might have been cold and cruel…but he's forgiving. He wants you back, you know…"

Growling in anger, he shoved her back with more force than he intended and, not realizing how close they were to the railing, watching in horror as she fell. The old railing broke with ease as she backed into it and there was nothing to stop her as she began her quick descent to the first floor. All he heard was a solid '_thud_' and the '_oomph_' of someone being heavily winded.

'_Please don't be dead—pleasedon'tbedeadpleasedon'tbedeadpleasedon'tbedead—'_

Running over to the broken railing, he leaned forward slightly and stared down at Mary. Lying on her side, knees and arms bent, long braided hair flung everywhere and in her face, he could have sworn he had killed her…

Then she coughed.

Pushing herself up with her arms, she moved to sit on her left hip as she flung her hair away from her face and took hold of something protruding from her side. Pulling hard, she tugged a shattered piece of tile from her waist and tossed it aside, standing slowly and brushing herself off.

She was a little wobbly, but with the crack of her back and neck, she turned around and stared right back up at him.

"Tell me again what evil is?"

-V-

**Contest Info: **I forgot to mention this—later on I am going to be hosting a contest. Now, as you already know, I'm not a fan of OC's—most of them turn out to be big fat Mary's Sues (if you don't know what those are, just ask and I'll tell)—but that doesn't mean every OC is a bad one. If you have a story which contains an OC, please tell us (yes, there is more than one judge) your penname and story title and we will analyzing and grade your OC to see which is the best of all Teen Titan stories. If you want to enter but _don't_ have an OC, then make up a one-shot (or…two-shot) about a character of your own design and write them into a small plot concerning the Titans. More details, such as when the contest starts and ends, will be figured later….but I have to warn you…**Alex** is a judge and he _hates_ OC's more than I do (and if you ever read one of his stories, you'll see that he usually kills them off—but not before degrading them in every possible way). In contradiction to that, anyone who wants to know what we're looking for should contact **Alex** (Full penname is Alexnandru Van Gordon) or myself, via e-mail, and **Alex** will tell you how to write a character that he could possibly like (he has all these books in his room about character design and he took a course on it, so don't be fooled by his hatred).

Besides that…Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. My two week vacation started on Saturday, so I still have days and days to go for relaxation and writing. I hope you have a great time—and good luck with school. I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting my mid-terms soon…

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring_


	9. Chapter 9

Puppets

Victor Van Heiring

I'm having fun this week…I wonder when Alex plans on updating…

PS; Thanks for all your support you guys. I might not have many reviews to speak of but I appreciate each and every single last one you send me. Thanks for your thoughts and opinions. Have a wonderful New Year ;)

**Important:** I meant to say 'escalators' not 'elevators' in my last chapter (hence the description of the rotating steps). That's all

DISCLAIMER: Ha—like I own much of anything…

CHAPTER NINE: Secret plans

He pushed her…and he didn't even apologize—of course, this was what she was aiming for, but what annoyed her was that he didn't even mean to push her off the balcony. How is a person supposed to turn to a darker side of thought if every evil deed they did was by accident?

That's why she said what she said—to push his button a little.

"Tell me again what evil is?"

But even with the "accident", it was his anger and frustration that pushed him into throwing her off balance. Progress was slow, but she'd get him somewhere.

The tricky part was getting him to Slade with a mind that possessed a little more 'open'—if not desperate—attitude to switch sides. She knew he would constantly deny serving the man wholly, but that wasn't her job. All Mary had to do was push him in the right direction.

Speaking of 'pushing'…

You get as much as you give.

"Sorry…" He muttered.

She smiled behind the porcelain white mask. "No worries, lovely. You'll get another chance to kill me yet."

"I don't intend on killing you." He corrected her quickly, almost afraid of the thought of having to murder her. "When we're through, you're going back home to the asylum."

"Home is where the heart is, sweet. Home is with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. The most of a home I have is wherever I stand, little as it may be—and you would do well to know this. You ran away from your home…but you never really left, did you?" She pointed up at him. "You left the Bat but found your place here. Anyone can find a home anywhere."

From what she could see, his face mirrored his inner turmoil. Inside he struggled with what she said.

Cooing, she shook her head. "Troubled? Tell me, I have quotes and clichés to throw over the moon and back again."

"Why do you do that?" He flung his hand at her. "You act crazy and do the type of things that hurt people, but what you say contradicts your actions."

Shaking her head, she leaned down and picked up her blade. Luckily, she landed on a broken tile instead of her dagger. The damage might have put her out of the game for good…

Mary sighed loudly and started toward the front of the escalators. Taking the one which rolled slowly upward, she waited and watched Robin as he backed up to give them space. He would continue to fight, no doubt there, but he was trying to be honorable about it.

"I don't contradict myself." She answered. "You do."

Then she lunged. He didn't move fast enough and stumbled back. Robin nearly made it out of reach, but her blade caught him in the stomach and slashed upward from the left hip to the right side of his chest before he was entirely out of the way. By then he had his staff ready, swinging it down vertically and catching her on the left shoulder.

Pain erupted from where she was hit, almost tricking her into believing she broke something. Her arm hung limply for a moment as she bit back a scream before she stretched her arms upward. The socket cracked and the pain elevated for a moment before numbing out. There was a warm throb as she then began circling the limb, all the while keeping her eyes on her opponent.

"I could kill you…" He said, grasping for time. Maybe he knew she could make him kill her. "But I never will. I've had the chance to kill people before, but I learned. I learned why isn't right…"

"And yet you stall. Don't I deserve to hear _your_ view on what good and evil are?"

"I already told you—"

"—a dogmatic interpretation that everyone teachers their children." She had to roll her eyes. "Good people—they do the right thing when they could easily do the wrong thing; do the wrong thing when they don't have a choice; and pick the best choice when both decisions are wrong. Bad people do the wrong thing when they have the chance to do the right thing—when it would be much _easier_ to the right but too much _fun_ to do the wrong. Tell me why the poster boy of god-like heroes can't even tell me _that_! Or are you just doing whatever _they _told you to do!"

He stumbled again, but this time over her words. She took the opening he gave her and lashed out again with her blade, this time following with a kick. He nearly fell, catching himself in time to block her axe-kick with his right arm. She tried again with a front kick and caught him in the face, forcing him to release his bo-staff and back step toward the empty elevator shaft.

_You get what you give_. Running, she jumped and twisted sideways in mid-air, the bottom of her foot connecting with his chest. Together they fell into the shaft and down toward the basement floor.

Both reached out for the center cables. Mary caught one halfway down, as did Robin, but the boy's snapped after a short pause and he fell all the way into the basement. Landing hard on the concrete, he rested for a moment before forcing himself back on his feet.

Holding onto the cable with only her right arm, she stared down at him and smiled. He was lucky he didn't injure himself in the fall.

"Why are you telling me these things?" He asked softly, sadly. "Don't you think I contemplate those exact same thoughts almost every time I'm left with a tough decision?"

"Because you could save the world…" She answered. "But you have no sense of strategy…"

She dropped down from the cable and landed in front of him, startling the boy. Reaching out, Mary grabbed him by the front of his suit and pulled him close to her face.

"You're just like _him_. You don't want the people to be happy, do you? You want them to suffer—you're just here for the _kicks_."

Enraged, he lashed out. She knew she hit a sore spot—purposefully—when she compared him to Slade. Hate was such a wonderful thing to play with…

-(Group POV)-

The mall was quiet and dark, the perfect setting for a horror movie. Dane and four other men gathered together, guns ready, at the east entrance into the mall, just waiting for something to go wrong.

"Split up." One of the men ordered and they did, Dane wandering further into the mall with his eyes scanning the many glass windows of the shops. Everything was either gone or ruined, including the floor and walls.

Each man drifted farther apart from the rest until they found themselves at dead ends.

Then Slade's robots came out of hiding, attacking all but one…

-D-

There were times when he didn't like being alone, especially when it concerned Slade. After all, that's how he lost Mark. Dane didn't even have the slightest idea of his friend's current condition—was he dead…or worse? He knew Mark ever since grade school and the thought of him broken and mutilated was more than he could bear. He didn't know what Slade would do…The mercenary was known for quite a few brutal jobs, but how far would he go to get Dane out of his hair?

He noticed the light.

It came in a long straight beam from beneath a hidden door painted into the graffiti wall. He was cautious, but he knew Slade didn't make mistakes. He wanted Dane to find the door—and also knew that Dane would do just about anything to get his friend back alive.

Hesitant, he finally made up his mind and stepped up to the door. Reaching out, he took the broken doorknob and opened the door slowly, peering down the narrow stairs. Sighing inwardly, he started down…

And saw him.

He had no idea if he was still conscious, but at least he was alive. Dane could see the faint movement of Mark's chest as he breathed, propped up where he sat, leaning, against the wall. His green sweater was torn and his arm bandaged up. Other _newer_ wounds were tended to as well, his head wrapped up around the forehead.

What happened to him?

"Don't let me ruin your reunion. You can be assured that I won't stop you from taking him away."

Dane remained hesitant. Raising an eyebrow, he buried his fear and tried to maintain a cold glare as Slade's one eye bore into him. The room was somewhat empty, obviously just cleared of machinery, and Slade stood leaning against the wall next to Mark's limp form with his arms crossed.

Dane had no idea what to do. The vengeful side of him wanted to attack Slade, follow through with his assignment, but the rest of his conscience screamed at him to let the man get away this time so he could stay and help Mark. He'd already been through enough agony…

"Or, if you _want_, I'm sure your friend wouldn't mind remaining in my company for a while longer…"

"What did you do to him?" Dane growled, stepping into the center of the room so he could face Slade properly. "Why the hell did you take him?"

"It's a _warning_." Slade stated blankly. "What goes around comes around, Dane. Stay away from me and anything concerning _me_ or you'll meet the same fate as your friend."

"Like I really care about what you do to me." He answered. "Just…_go_…"

Slade pushed off the wall and strode past Dane slowly, close enough that they almost brushed shoulders…mocking him, tempting him to attack. But Dane kept a cool composure and waited until Slade was halfway up the stairs before leaning down in front of Mark.

"Wake up, Mark…please…" He patted the side of his friend's face gently with one hand, rocking his shoulder with the other. "Come on…you've got to be alright…"

Mark stirred…then his eyes opened part way, sleepy. "…Leave me…" He breathed, bending his knees toward his chest protectively. Still sore, his movements were slow and strained as he brushed away Dane's hands. "…You'll hate me now that I'm different…"

…Why would he hate him? What _did _Slade do to him?

-R-

If she was trying to get on his nerves, it was sure working. He couldn't take it anymore. He got enough lectures from Slade—he didn't need any from her.

But maybe he was acting a little…harsh?

He lashed out worse then he intended. He struck out with almost any trick he could remember, kicking, throwing and punching as fast and as hard as she could. She tried to block, delivering her own attacks but taking more hits than what she tried to give.

Then came the face shots.

Her mask drove him nuts, white and red like some rebellious flag of victory. It reminded him of Slade's mask, covering his entire face save for that one lone gray eye. Of course, he couldn't see either of her eyes, but he had the sudden urge to destroy the mask. He was tired of never being able to put a face to the person he fought. It was like the nameless solider, driving everyone crazy with the longing to solve the mystery.

He hit her hard. Harder then he intended, laying into her as though she was a robot or a punching bag.

In a series of punches and kicks, he watched in his adrenaline-high state as the mask began to crack. Finally a piece broke off, the lower right half, to show part of her jaw and lips, a trail of blood trickling down from her mouth.

Then he stopped before he went too far…

She fell to one knee, touching the center of the mask in fear the whole thing would break apart. Groaning in pain, she was barely able to move her neck as she forced herself to look up at him.

-M-

He was dangerous when he was angry…she was pleased with that.

Panting and shaky, horrified and shocked—he stood there before Mary with his masked eyes cast down at her. The anger and frustration slowly passed away as grief took over and he licked his lips absent-mindedly as he backed away a step, lowering his raised fits and trying to loosen up his stiff shoulders.

"Now…would you have convinced yourself that you did the _right thing_ if my neck would have broken?" She grinned, and this time he could see most of her mouth. The hand that rested on her mask moved to the back of her neck, feeling the stiff material used to make the high collar of her suit, something she added to prevent severe neck injuries There was once a time when a much stronger opponent was obsessed with breaking her mask. The only hit she ever took from him was to the face, and from the awful experience she learned to prepare for the worst.

"I'm not fighting you anymore." He gasped between panting breathes. She saw his shoulders tense and twitch for a moment. He was acting like a child who snuck out in the middle of the night and now just realized he needed to get home soon. "I'm taking you conscious—or _not_.You're choice."

"You just want to leave before you have to confront _him_." She shook her head, laughing. "You must enjoy the fact that he obsesses over you just as much as you obsess over him."

"Then what am I supposed to _do_!" He shouted, enraged again. "Just give in? I know what he'll say—I know what he wants from me."

"Then why don't you use that against him?" She stood. "You don't want to stick around because you know he has blackmail this time. You know that you don't have to give in to him if you pretend you don't know he wants you back…"

"He's going to blow up the city…what else am I supposed to do? He's had me before. He knows what I'll do…"

She shook her head. "You give him too much credit. I promised Dane I'd protect you—and at the same time I promised your master that I'd deliver you to him with a more 'open' mind. I _always _keep my promises…"

He looked incredulous, eyeing her as he relaxed a little further. "I doubt you're here to protect anyone. You just pushed me down an elevator shaft."

"You pushed me over a railing."

He paused.

"Dane only brought to keep your team safe and sound out of Slade's way so that his team could exterminate him. They didn't want a repeat of the first time you were taken by Slade."

Robin's eye widened. "How do you know about—"

She raised a hand for silence. "Security caught you on tape—the government kept it secret."

Pausing…he finally nodded. "But if you're supposed to keep me and my team safe from him, why are you trying to get me to join him?"

"Dane won't be able to stop him. This I knew." After all, Slade was a legend. "You're the only one I think can stop him."

"How?"

"The best attack comes from within. Wait for his trust, and then take him out with his back exposed."

She could tell he rolled his eyes. "He's not ever going to trust me. I think that's something he's counting on."

"There are other methods. If all else fails, wait until his empire is yours and use what was his to make things right again."

"That's insane."

"So am I."

"He'll _destroy _the world."

"The world can heal on its own." She smiled again. "And besides, I could really care less. I wasn't assigned to save the world—I was assigned to keep you alive and well."

"Thanks—but no thanks. I'd rather fight him until the end of my days."

"Then you'll never find a weakness."

"I don't have the time—"

"There's _plenty_ of time." She snapped. "Time will go on forever—it's not going anywhere. What you really lack is _patience_."

"You sound like him."

She arched an eyebrow. "You _act_ like him…"

-V-

I think that's more than enough to keep you guys happy for this update. I hope you liked it.

If you remember the contest I spoke of last time—I made it on a separate update on a story called OC contest. Check it out if you want; I've already got four contestants. Just leave the needed information in a review.

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring_


	10. Chapter 10

Puppets

Victor Van Heiring

Is Marionette good or evil? Good question…you'll have to continuing reading to find out. The real only importance I decided to give to her is the fact that she'll either help Robin or Slade. That's why I decided to blur the lines in the last chapter. I would like to thank all my faithful readers for reviewing—I hope I'm writing a good story for you. Like I said in the beginning, this is the first I've let anyone read besides Alex.

Now, onward!

PS: **Liobit**…you really are a wonder…

DISCLAIMER: Blah! As if…

CHAPTER TEN: Mercy

Robin had a tough head to get into. He was attached to a routine that was so flexible and hard to track, that the only thing you could be certain of was that he spent his nights researching. Otherwise he was training, hunting down bad guys, doing more research…or whatever. He could be spontaneous every then and again…

The only real other thing you could be certain of was—if his communicator wasn't working or wasn't being answered, he was with Slade.

It was 'common knowledge'.

And sometimes they hated this little bit of 'common knowledge'—or, at least, Beast Boy did when the slade-bot sent him hurtling through the air like a baseball. He collided with one of the plain walls and crashed to the floor before his vision returned. Luckily, he didn't fall down the empty elevator shaft instead…

Needless to say, when the team tried to contact Robin and ask what was taking him so long (was he lecturing the guy or what!), he didn't answer. Assuming it had something to do with Slade; they gathered together and headed toward the mall. And not only did they find trances of the madman, but they found the secret society of AF blasting the place to smithereens. The battle was quite intense.

"Dude! Do I look like a punching bag!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. Brushing himself off, he waited for the robot to advance…and watched in disappointment when it turned around and casually strolled off in the other direction.

He wasn't _that _bad at fighting…was he?

"Come on! I'll show you something to be afraid of." He taunted. It was then that he heard the familiar _Hi-ya!_ of Robin somewhere behind him. Originally, he thought it was behind the wall (yeah, stupid thought) but then the echo kind of ruined that idea

So, left with only one possibility, he stepped to the edge of the elevator shaft and stared down at the dim light below. Someone—or _someone**s**_—were having a little fun down there…

The other _someone_ sounded familiar too…

-M-

OW!...Again—_OW_!...

"Are you stupid or something!" She shouted, adjusting what was left of her mask. "Where on my mask does it say **Hit Here**! You've got your head screwed on backwards. You preach one thing and do another!"

He made a face, shaking out his sore right hand. She suspected he broke it in the last punch. "You're really confusing, did you know that? Aside from Slade, you're one of the few people who actually try to connect my thoughts and actions."

"I see no connection. Your brain is dead."

He simply shook his head and started forward again with a spare bo-staff. Her blade fell when they were on the second floor, falling from her hand when he dislocated her arm with his first staff. Now she was dagger-less and whip-less and there was nothing left up her sleeves aside from…air. She was fine with fighting with her hands and feet, but he could out-do her there without any questions asked.

He definitely had the high ground.

She tried to flip backwards when he swung at her head, narrowly missing the staff as is _whisp_-ed just beneath her body in mid-air. Landing, however, didn't turn out quite right when he came with a follow-up kick. Ribs breaking, she bent forward into the blow and fell to her back when he hit.

Lying still on her back, she tried to breathe past the pain.

"Give up." He murmured silently. Walking toward her head, he stopped and pressed the tip of his staff to her throat. "You're through."

"I either leave you on my own." She choked. "Or you kill me."

"I already told you—I _don't_ kill people."

"And what of your greater adversary?" In the corner of her eye, she saw something move. "_I_ know you can't defeat him, _he_ knows you can't defeat him, and _you_ know you can't defeat him. If only you would kill him…"

"I told you!—"

"You said you were a hero…that you believe in what is right and wrong." She echoed quietly. "You live to save the people, don't you, because you really have no one else to live or die for. You're friends are still friends, but you trust them less then anyone, otherwise you would have revealed your face to them already. Well…your friends aren't on the line anymore—the people are, and every time you engage him in battle and fail to defeat him, one of those weak people get hurt. Someone's attacked, a building is destroyed…What poor little people…"

"I know that already…" He answered softly. "That's why I'm here."

"But you let them get hurt—_over_…and _over_…and _over_ _again_…You can't defeat him now. You might not be able to defeat him for years to come…"

"I just can't give up—and I just can't give in and join him either."

"You boast about how strong you are…If you were truly that powerful, then his influence won't work, _regardless_ of what he does to you. Why don't you prove to the people you love so much how strong you are? Why don't you prove it to him?"

He was hesitant again. She knew how it felt to be left with the thought of 'Is it right or wrong? Do I do it, or do I leave it?'

When she was a little girl, she lost her older sister, her parents and her sanity all in one foul swoop, and because kids are _kids_ people always assume that everything a child feels or thinks is short-term. Well…it isn't. Bad memories last longer than the good ones and everything that they hate and fear will cling to their subconscious forever. That's why it's much worse to hurt a child than an adult, because they will suffer the most and the longest—like _he_ did. He was compensating his anger and sorrow towards the loss of his parents with a hate towards the type of people that killed them.

"I don't know what you're surrogate father told you before you left." She whispered, referring to the Dark Knight of Gotham. "But you're not a kid anymore. Have a little faith in yourself."

Without word, he lifted his end of the staff and turned away. Off into the darkness, he began searching for a way out.

"You're leaving?"

"I still refuse to kill you." He answered, not bothering to stop or look at her. "You've got ten minutes to high-tail out of here. Now _get_, before I forget how to be merciful."

She didn't say anything. It was a wonder to watch him struggle and continue moving on anyway, much as though he taught himself to never take his own wants and needs into consideration.

For a moment there, she respected him more than Slade and Dane put together. Perhaps she was one who that was out of place. Maybe it was _her_ job to buckle down and start "right-ing" the "wrongs".

Too late for that.

"_I'll take it from here."_ He said from behind her as she stood, brushing off her arms, she retreated into the shadows. _"You can either tag along for the rest of the ride or vanish from the city. You're choice."_

"I need to see how this ends." She answered quietly, cringing from the pain in her chest. But the answer was said more to herself, because she _did_ need to know how the epic tale ended.

Stepping backwards, she hid in a darkened corner and watched as Slade followed the boy. Robin knew he was there.

Robin knew it was too late to do anything.

-R-

He wasn't in tip-top condition anymore after the battle with Mary, but he wasn't tired enough to throw the cape in for the night. Besides, he knew something bad was going to happen at any second now. The girl would have persisted on talking more if she had to keep him there any longer.

He stopped of his own accord and turned to face his enemy. Sure enough, Slade was there, tall and menacing, hands behind his back…It became routine now to see him at the worst of times, like a bad omen before a storm. Slade was there to keep him in shape. Slade was also there to destroy him.

"What took you?"

-S-

"What took you?"

The way he acted was different—the way he _spoke_ to him was different too. He was tired—not just physically—and depressed, and the way he stood gave a mature air to his posture. He was acting like someone who'd had the worst day of their life and truly believed that nothing else could possibly go wrong.

He was in for a surprise.

Or was he?

Slade wasn't exactly there the entire time Marionette talked (and fought) with him. The most he saw was up to the part where he pushed her over the second floor railing—a wonderful cliff-hanger as he left to prepare Dane's little surprise. After that, the first thing he returned to see was Robin arguing against killing people—_"I already told you—I don't kill people."_—what a weak opposition. But he was different…Obviously whatever Marionette said to him was starting to take effect.

Hopefully, it was to his advantage.

"I had other business to attend to." He finally replied. "But now I'm free to chat."

"Since when did you _chat_?"

He shrugged. The boy still had a sharp tongue.

"Fine." The said boy twirled his favorite weapon and waited patiently for his opponent to make the first move. "Be that way. I'm here to fight, that's all."

"Then perhaps both of us can have our way?" Slade shifted, now circling with the boy as they prepared to attack. "Fight first—then talk? You're rash, but I believe you have nothing to say against that suggestion?"

Robin growled.

"No? Good."

Then they were at each other's throats. Slade had his own staff in hand before Robin could complete the downward strike toward his head, swiping upward to catch the youth in the ribs. Winded, the teenaged hero was sent flying back and landed in a stumbled crouch before rising to his feet again. He held a hand instinctively over the broken rib in defense but lowered it almost as soon as he realized his mistake.

Never show your weakness to your enemy.

At least he wasn't as slow as before, Slade mused to himself. But, as it is for every mortal being, there's always room for improvement…

Too bad that bat had to get in the way.

-BB-

He must have been insane. The moment he heard Slade's voice, his brain flew out the window…not that he used it much, but revenge sounded like a better idea than running for help. And besides—what about that other girl? Suddenly her voice dropped and then…_him_.

Standing at the top of an empty elevator shaft and staring down worriedly at the near pitch-black darkness scared him half to death. How could Robin possibly see down there?

So, jumping head first (and he meant this literally) into the doom below, he morphed mid-air into a vampire bat before he could plummet into the ground. Pulling out of the risky dive, he screeched to gain his bearings and headed toward the tallest figure he picked up on his sonar.

Good grief—he was lucky Slade missed with his staff. The man nearly decapitated him.

Strange enough, it wasn't Slade that hit him. It was rock—a very large and heavy rock…

Wounded, he transformed back into his humanoid form as he hurtled through the air. Colliding with the far wall, the most he saw before the stars around his head disappeared (and his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting) was darkness. Then—

"AH!"

It was the maniac killer girl—Marionette or whatever she said her name was. She stood before Beast Boy like a disappointed mother, hands on her hips.

"Vermin? Here?" She shook her head, the corner of her lip (which he could see) curling up into a grin. She looked a tab bit scarier with a busted mask. "Perhaps I should exterminate you?"

Slade had lost interest in Beast Boy the moment Marionette shot him down with whatever it was she threw at him. The madman and his fearless leader were fighting again in the back ground, both at each other's throat…

"No…CLAY speaks of you as a youth. Therefore, you have seventy-two hours to kill me before I can kill you." She backed up a couple of steps, stretching her sore body as she watched him rise. "Come, lovely. Show me strength. Show me cunning."

He had no idea who—or what—CLAY was, but being given three days to knock her senseless before she would even 'try' to kill him…not a bad deal. Why couldn't more criminals be as insanely fair as her? Not like Mob, who liked to hypnotize the hell out of anyone and everyone.

"Ummm….I don't know about cunning…" He admitted meekly. "But strength I can do!"

And with that, he morphed into a gorilla…

-V-

That's all for now! I hope you enjoy.

_Signing out,_

_Victor Van Heiring_


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